Never Again
by supernaturalsam
Summary: COMPLETE! Nancy's friend, Ann Granger, has written a mystery novel and someone is intent on bringing it to life. Will Nancy survive when the killer set his sights on her? PLEASE REVIEW!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Yep, another story by me. This one takes place when Nancy is twenty-one. This is not a story that will be connected to my other ones, meaning Nancy isn't going out with Frank in this one. This will include Ned (which should make one of you happy!). It will also include past characters from _The Nancy Drew Files_**.

**I got the idea for this story from a soap opera, of all places. I tell you that in case it sounds familiar. I really hope that you like this one, so let me know what you think.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I won't unless I found out that one of the owners is my long-lost relative and they left them to me...wishful thinking.**

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"The sirens were deafening to Katie. A few years working as a detective still hadn't made listening to them any easier. But she supposed she should have been happy to hear them. After all, they were here to take _him _away.

"Katie watched with great satisfaction as one of the officers slapped the handcuffs on him and escorted him to a waiting police car. A paramedic was coming to look Katie over, but she waved him away. Sure, she was hurt; he had made sure of that. But her injuries could wait for a few more minutes. She was enjoying this.

"And rightfully so. She had finally put a stop to the grisly murders that had terrorized the city–her city–for days. And now she knew that, at least for tonight, the citizens of Dunning, Illinois would sleep easily tonight."

Applause and cheers broke out as Ann Granger finished reading an excerpt from her book, _Never Again. _A small audience had gathered at Bookends, the small bookstore in River Heights, to celebrate the book's highly anticipated release.

She stepped down from the podium as the applause died down. He agent, Allan Hawthorn patted her on the back and took her place at the podium.

"We really appreciate everyone coming out tonight and supporting Ann with her new book. It's always helpful for an author to have the support of their community," Allan said. "We are going to have a small break right now. In a few minutes, Ann will start signing books."

The crowd dispersed and headed for the refreshment table that was set up in the back of the store. Ann made her way through the crowd to where twenty-one year old Nancy Drew was standing.

"You've got a great turn-out here," Nancy said smiling as Ann came to a stop beside her.

"Yeah, but it's mostly everyone from the newspaper," Ann said.

Ann Granger was a good friend of Nancy's and an investigative reporter for the _River Heights Morning Record_. Ever since Ann had really started to write on her book, she didn't write for the paper as much as she used to. But she was still a very well-respected citizen of River Heights and everyone had stood behind her one-hundred percent while she pursued her book.

"I think there's a lot more people here than you realize," Nancy said.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm really grateful that everyone is here for this," Ann said. "Especially you, Nancy."

Nancy smiled at her friend. "There was no way that I was missing this."

"I mean it. This wouldn't have been possible without you," Ann said. She grabbed a plastic cup from the table that was filled with lemonade and took a sip.

"I think you're giving me a little too much credit," Nancy said.

"Are you kidding? You've been with me since the beginning," Ann said. "You're the only one that I know I could call at two o'clock in the morning and share an idea with you without you getting mad."

Nancy shook her head. "Oh, no–I was plenty mad. If only you could hear the names I was calling you every time that phone rang."

Ann laughed and took another sip of her lemonade.

Nancy remembered when Ann first came up with the idea of writing _Never Again_. She had been really excited when she had called Nancy and asked if she could base the lead character, Katie Duncan, after her. Nancy was reluctant at first, but hearing the excitement in Ann's voice, she couldn't refuse.

So, here they were, a year later, celebrating the release of her book.

"Oh, I already have you a copy of the book, Nancy." Ann set down her glass and grabbed a book that was sitting behind the counter. "This is the first copy–I thought that you should have it."

"Thank you, Ann," Nancy said, taking to book from her.

"Here," Ann said, flipping to a page at the very beginning of the book. "I want you to read this."

Nancy looked at the page that Ann was talking about and read aloud. "_'To Nancy Drew–my friend and inspiration. Without you, this wouldn't be possible.'_"

"Oh, Ann," Nancy said, grinning at her friend. "I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything. It was the least I could do after you helped me with that case a few years ago," Ann said.

Nancy remembered fairly well the case that Ann was talking about. Ann had uncovered a story about an insurance scam that was run by several members of organized crime. She was being represented by Nancy's father, Carson Drew. In turn, Carson was framed for bribing a judge. The real criminal behind it kidnapped Ann to try to force her source out of her, and it had been Nancy's detective skills that had found Ann and cleared her father of any wrong-doing.

"I told you that you didn't owe me anything," Nancy said, closing the book.

"I know, but I didn't listen," Ann said. "So, now we're even."

Just then Allan came up to them. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but they're ready for you to begin the book-signing, Ann."

"Thanks, Allan," Ann said. She turned to Nancy. "So, are you going to stick around for a little bit longer?"

Nancy looked at her watch. It was nearing nine o'clock. "I really should get home. I have to pick up Dad from the airport early tomorrow."

Ann gave Nancy a big hug. "Thanks for coming, Nancy. Tell Carson I said hi."

"I will." Nancy grabbed her jacket from the chair she had been sitting in and slipped it on.

"Congratulations again, Ann," Nancy said.

"Thanks," Ann said. She started for the podium but stopped just as Nancy was about to open the door. "Let me know what you think, Nancy!"

Nancy smiled as she stepped out into the chilly October night.

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He smiled to himself as the blond left the bookstore. She was a very beautiful woman, he'd give her that. He has overheard her conversation with Ann Granger without really meaning to. But he wasn't here for that–he had another reason.

He wasn't really that much of a reader, but for some reason this book called out to him. Maybe it was the buzz he was hearing that surrounded the book that excited him. Maybe it was something else entirely–he didn't know. All he did know was that he needed to be here tonight.

He wasn't from River Heights; he was just passing through, actually. So, to everyone there, he was just another fan of the mystery genre.

The line was starting to move a little faster. He would get Ann to sign his book for him and then be on his way. What Ann didn't realize was that she had just handed him his guide. The book that would tell him exactly how he would do it.

He smiled as he stood in front of Ann.

"Hi," Ann said, smiling up at him. "Who do you want this dedicated to?"

"You can call me Dom," he said, smiling at her.

She quickly signed his book and handed it back to him. "I hope that you enjoy it, Dom."

"Oh, I will," Dom said. "More than you know."

Dom walked out of the bookstore and looked at the book with satisfaction.

Yes, he would definitely enjoy the book–just a little bit more than everyone else will.

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**Post Note: I will have more characters soon and the story will start evolve. I just wanted to get you started and wondering...**


	2. Time to Celebrate

**Author's Note: I am so glad that you liked the first chapter. I'm actually getting very excited about this story and it means a lot that you are, too. I know from some of the reviews some of you were asking about Frank, and he will be in this one, too. You'll just have to wait and see how it plays out. I kind of have an idea in my head, but you know how I like to change my mind!**

**And to "Nancy Drew", if you look at the very beginning of the first chapter, you will see that I said Nancy was twenty-one in this story. I'm not really sure how old Ann is, but for this story, I will say that she is twenty-eight.**

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The next morning, Nancy was driving her baby blue 1969 Ford Mustang Convertible towards Chicago's O'Hare Airport. She had just found a classic rock station on her radio when her cell phone began to ring. She looked down at the screen to see that it was Ann.

"Well, if it isn't our little author," Nancy said as way of greeting.

"I know you're on your way to pick up Carson from the airport, but I have some great news!" Ann's excited voice said.

"Really? What is it?" Nancy asked.

"I just got a call from my publisher in New York and they told me that _Never Again _is a best-seller!" Ann squealed with delight.

"Congratulations, Ann!" Nancy said. "That's wonderful. It's practically unheard of for a new author to be a best-seller the day after a book's release."

"I know," Ann said. "This is great, Nancy!"

"We should celebrate," Nancy said. "Let me take you out to dinner tonight."

"Oh, Nancy, you don't have to do that," Ann said.

"I know I don't, but I want to," Nancy said. "Come on, you deserve it. You can even bring Thomas with you. I'm sure I can get Ned to tag along."

"All right," Ann said. "When and where?"

"Your pick," Nancy said.

"Alberto's at seven?" Ann asked.

"I'll see you there." Nancy hung up the phone just as she was pulling into the O'Hare Airport. She parked her car into the short-term parking lot and walked through the double doors of the famed airport. She didn't have to walk very far when she heard her father calling her name.

"Nancy!"

Nancy turned around the see her father making his way towards her, briefcase in hand. She gave him a hug and stepped back.

"So, how was San Diego?" Nancy asked. He father had been there attending a conference for criminal lawyers.

"Good–though, I didn't have time to enjoy the sights," Carson said.

"You were in lectures the entire time?" Nancy asked. The made their way over to the baggage claim area.

"Yes," Carson sighed. "And let me be the first to tell you that they were not interesting at all. So, how did Ann's book release party go?"

"Went off without a hitch," Nancy said, grabbing one of her father's bags. "And I just got off the phone with her. Her publisher called and told her that she was a best-seller."

"That's great news!" Carson grabbed his other bag and they made their way towards Nancy's car.

"Yeah, she's really happy. I'm going to take her out to dinner tonight to celebrate," Nancy said.

"She certainly deserves this," Carson said. Nancy popped the trunk of her car and they piled in his luggage.

"She really does," Nancy said. "I need to get back to town and tell Ned that we're going out tonight. I haven't had a chance to call him yet."

"Just drop me off at the office," Carson said as Nancy started the ignition. "I need to check on my case docket for next week."

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"Hey, Joe! I'm back!" Twenty-one year old Frank Hardy called out as he walked into his Bayport home. He put his keys to his Jeep down on the small table beside the door and walked into the kitchen.

"Do you want me to alert the papers?" Twenty year old Joe Hardy asked, swallowing the bite of spaghetti that he had in his mouth.

"That sense of humor of yours gets worse day after day," Frank commented. He put down the bag he had been holding on the table and walked over to the refrigerator.

"If you're looking for the spaghetti, I just wiped it out," Joe said.

"Figures," Frank said. "And no, I was just getting something to drink." He pulled out a bottle of water and sat down at the table in front of Joe.

"So, where have you been?" Joe asked.

"I went to the bookstore," Frank said. "You know–the place where you buy books?"

"I know what a bookstore is," Joe said, giving Frank a dirty look. "It's a great place to meet girls."

"You would think a truck stop was a great place to meet girls," Frank said.

"Well, I see that my humor is not going to you," Joe said. He pushed aside the bowl and looked at Frank. "So, what book was on the must-have list now?"

Joe sometimes got annoyed with Frank's love of books. Joe would rather spend his time chasing girls and playing sports. Frank, on the other hand, loved to read and play with his computer.

"It's some new mystery novel," Frank said, taking the book out of the bag.

"Mystery novel?" Joe asked, raising an eyebrow. "Come on, Frank. Don't you have enough mystery in your life as it is?"

"Yeah, but that's our real life," Frank said. "I do like the occasional work of fiction that doesn't require me to risk my neck on a daily basis."

"So, what's so wonderful about this book?" Joe asked.

"It's about a guy who gets keeps getting rejected by everyone. So he decides to exact revenge against them all," Frank said, reading the inside flaps.

"Sounds like your general, run-of-the-mill nut job that's been written over and over again," Joe said.

Frank ignored him. "It says here that the author is from River Heights–Nancy's hometown."

"And now we've gotten to the real reason why you bought the book," Joe said. He picked up his bowl and brought it over to the sink.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Frank asked.

"It means you would do–or read–anything if it even remotely related to Nancy," Joe said.

"That's stupid, Joe," Frank said.

"Is it? How long has it been since you've talked to her?" Joe asked.

"About two months. But, so what? We've been busy," Frank protested.

"You mean, _she's_ been busy. You've been around a phone every time that I've seen you, just hoping that she would call," Joe said.

"I think you're exaggerating a little," Frank said, wryly.

"Really?" Joe asked. "Then why haven't you been on a date since you and Callie broke up?"

"I'm just not ready to date right now," Frank said.

"Right," Joe said with a hint of sarcasm. "You're waiting for Nancy. But you're going to have to keep waiting, because the last that I heard, she was still with Ned."

"All right," Frank said, standing up. "I think this conversation has gone on long enough."

"You just don't want to face reality, Frank," Joe said.

"Whatever," Frank grabbed his book and went upstairs to him room.

Joe was wrong. Frank wasn't spending his time, pining for Nancy. He just wasn't ready for another relationship right now. But, if Nancy happened to become available all of a sudden...

Frank shook his head, clearing the thought away. He sat down on his bed and opened the book.

_Hmm...the book was dedicated to Nancy..._

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"I'm really glad that you got to come tonight," Nancy said to her long-time, on-again, off-again boyfriend, Ned Nickerson. She reached out a hand and grabbed his.

Ned brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. "I'm just glad that I could get off of work on time."

Ned worked as an insurance agent for Morton Brothers Insurance, Chicago's largest insurance firm. He had been there for a year now and was quickly becoming a rising star in the company.

"Well, I am, too," Nancy said. "This is a big night for Ann and I'll take any excuse I can get to see you."

It was still hard for Nancy and Ned to see each other, even after the few years they had been together. He was always in Chicago or traveling for the firm and Nancy was still taking on cases full time.

They pulled up in front of Alberto's. it was the most popular Italian restaurant in River Heights and Nancy could already see a crowd gathering around the doors.

"There's Thomas," Nancy said, pointing to a well-dressed man standing under the canopy. "But I don't see Ann."

"Maybe she's inside getting us a table or she's running late," Ned suggested as he parked the car into the first available slot.

They got out of the car and walked up to the entrance of Alberto's where Thomas was waiting.

"Thomas...hey!" Nancy said.

Thomas smiled at her. "Hey, Nancy." He reached out a hand to Ned. "Ned."

Ned shook his hand. "Hey."

"Where's Ann?" Nancy asked.

"Oh, she was running late. When I left, her agent had her on the phone," Thomas explained. "She told me to go on without her. She should be here soon."

Thomas and Ann had been married for the last six years and when he talked about her, he still had the voice of a man who had just met his soul-mate.

"So, should we wait out here for her?" Nancy asked.

"Well..." Thomas looked at the crowd of people to see if maybe he could spot Ann coming. "We could go in and get a table, I suppose."

"I'm sure she'll be here soon," Ned said.

"All right," Thomas said. He reluctantly led the way into the restaurant.

Nancy followed Thomas into Alberto's. She silently hoped that Ned was right when he said that Ann was just running late.

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Ann looked at her watch and sighed in frustration. It was already approaching seven o'clock and she still wasn't ready for dinner. _Thomas has to be getting worried, _she thought to herself.

Luckily she had showered before Allan had called her and kept her on the phone for the past hour. She went into the bedroom and took out a simple, black dress and threw it on. She paused in front of the mirror and dabbed on a little blush and lipstick.

She then went back into her room and grabbed the silver hoops that Thomas had given her for their anniversary. Just as she was putting them into her ears, there was a knock on her door.

"Just a minute!" she called.

She quickly put the other earring in and went to the door. She looked out of the peephole to see a delivery man holding a large bouquet of flowers.

"Hi, can I help you?" Ann asked, smiling.

"Ann Granger?" the man asked. When she nodded, he said, "These are for you."

Ann took the flowers and looked at the man, curiously. "Don't I know you?"

"We met last night–at the book signing," the man said.

"Right...Dom, right?" Ann asked.

"You got it," Dom said.

"So, thank you for the flowers," Ann said. She stepped inside her apartment and was closing the door when Dom held out his hand to stop it.

"I don't think so," he said quietly.

"Excuse me?" Ann asked.

He pushed the door open, causing Ann to stumble back and drop the vase full of flowers.

"What are you doing?" Ann asked.

"Maybe you can help me out here, Annie," Dom said, closing the door.

"Help you out with what?" Ann asked, fear creeping in her voice. "What are you doing?"

"You wrote a wonderful book," Dom said. "I finished it all last night. The murders–they were so precise."

"I'm glad that you liked it." Ann backed up from Dom, looking at her phone.

"Don't even think about it," Dom said. "You have to help me here."

"Help you with what?" Ann asked.

"I have to send a message to your little friend," Dom said, advancing on her. "You know–you're little blond-haired friend."

"Nancy? What does she have to do with this?" Ann asked. She felt a lump rise in her throat. She didn't like him including Nancy in this.

"Well, she's obviously a great detective. Or, so I hear from everyone around town," Dom said. "And you did write Katie's character for her. I wonder if she's anything like Katie."

"You leave her alone," Ann said.

Dom shook his head and withdrew something from under his shirt. Ann's eyes widened when she saw what it was. A knife!

"So, tell me Ann...how did that first murder go?"

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	3. What Becomes of the BrokenHearted?

Thomas looked at his watch for what must have been the tenth time, Nancy supposed. It was now seven-thirty, and there was still no sign of her. They had been trying to call her for the last half hour, but there was no answer at her house or on her cell. But none of them wanted to voice what they were all fearing: _Something had happened to Ann._

"Look, why don't we just head back to your house," Nancy said. "It would make all of us feel better if we knew for sure she wasn't in trouble."

"I guess there's nothing else we can do right now," Thomas said. "Do you mind if I ride with you. I took a cab here."

"We don't mind at all," Ned said. He held the door open so Nancy and Thomas could exit the restaurant. "My car's around back," he told Thomas.

They walked to Ned's car and piled in. Ned took off down the street and soon they were pulling up in front of Ann and Thomas's small, modest home.

"Well, a couple of lights are on," Nancy observed.

"Yeah, but that still doesn't ease away any fears," Thomas said.

They walked up the sidewalk to the door and Thomas unlocked it.

"Ann!" he called as they walked into the house. "Ann, where are you?"

They walked into the kitchen and saw Ann sitting in a chair at the kitchen table.

"Ann, baby, why didn't you answer?" Thomas asked, walking up to her. He reached out to touch her and recoiled.

"Thomas, what is it?" Nancy asked. She walked up beside Thomas and gasped. "Oh, my God."

Ann was slumped in the chair, with a stab wound through the heart. Even though the dress she was wearing was black, Nancy could still see that it was covered with her blood.

"Ned, call the police," Nancy whispered.

Ned didn't say anything but Nancy felt him move away and soon heard him on the phone with 911.

"Oh, my God–Ann," Thomas whispered. "What happened to you, baby?"

Nancy saw that tears were moving down his cheeks. She grabbed him in a comforting hug, but couldn't stop her own tears from falling down. _This is someone I know, _she thought. _Ann is–was–my friend. Who could have done this?_

"Come on, Thomas," Nancy said, quietly. She stood back to look at him. "Let's go into the living room."

Thomas shook his head. "I can't–I can't leave her...alone."

Nancy decided not to argue with Thomas. He was hurting right now; she could understand that.

"The police are on their way," Ned said, coming back into the kitchen.

Nancy nodded and turned her attention to the table. She saw that there was a lone pink rose lying on the table in front of Ann.

"Thomas, did you give Ann some pink roses?" she asked.

Thomas slowly shook his head.

"That's odd," Nancy said. She then turned and saw a bouquet of flowers sitting on a small table. "It must have come out of that, then."

"That wasn't here when I left," Thomas said.

"Do you think the killer..." Ned trailed off, looking at Thomas's horrified expression.

Nancy walked over to the bouquet and saw a card lying on the table.

"Ned, hand me a paper towel," she said.

Ned walked into the kitchen and came back out with a paper towel. He handed it to Nancy and she carefully picked up the card. Her face paled when she read what it said.

"'Stop me if you can; Stop me if you will; You better do it fast; For I've got more to kill,'" Nancy read.

"So, we're dealing with a psychopath," Ned said, disgusted.

"Looks like," Nancy said. She placed the card back on the table and straightened up when she heard sirens. "There's the police."

Nancy could see that Tomas wasn't going to move away from Ann, so she went to the door and opened it for the police. She saw that one of her old friends from the River Heights Police Department, B.D. Hawkins, was the first one out of the car. She knew that he had recently gotten promoted to lieutenant.

B.D. smiled at Nancy. "I should know by now that wherever there is trouble, Nancy Drew is in the middle of it."

Nancy gave him a weak smile. "Believe me, I wish I wasn't here."

"What happened?" B.D. asked.

"It's bad, B.D.," Nancy said, leading him into the house.

B.D. followed her into the kitchen and stopped short when he saw Ann. "Oh, man."

"Yeah," Nancy said.

"When did you discover her?" B.D. asked, taking out a notepad and pen.

"About ten minutes ago," Nancy said. "Ann was supposed to be meeting us for dinner tonight and when she didn't show up, we started to get worried. So we came here, and this is how we found her."

"All right," B.D. sighed. "Did you touch anything?"

Nancy shook her head. "Not after we found her." She pointed at the table that held the flowers. "Thomas said those flowers weren't here when he left, so I checked them out. There was a note left with them–it' not good."

B.D. went over to the table and looked at the card. He turned back to Nancy and the others with a grim expression on his face. "Okay, I'm going to need you three to step out of the room. I'll get my guys in here to start collecting evidence."

Nancy wanted to protest, but then thought better of it. B.D. knew what he was doing and she trusted him completely. Besides, she didn't want to be around Ann's..._body_.

"I can't leave her," Thomas said.

"Sir, I know it's hard, but you're going to have to leave so we can work," B.D. said. He nodded to a female officer and she escorted Thomas out of the room.

"I need fresh air," Nancy said.

Ned nodded and grabbed her hand. They walked outside into the cool air.

"How are you?" Ned asked quietly.

"I don't think it's really hit me, yet," she said.

Ned held her in a close embrace and kissed her forehead. "I'm really sorry, Nan."

"I know," Nancy said. "I just don't understand it, Ned. How could someone do this? Ann didn't deserve this."

"No one deserves to be murdered, Nancy," Ned said.

"I know," Nancy said. "It's just hard. After all these years, I've never lost a friend to a..._murderer_."

There was a squeal of tires and Nancy and Ned looked up to see a bright red sports convertible coming to a halt in front of Ann's house.

"You have got to be kidding me," Nancy muttered.

A tall, leggy brunette emerged from the flashy car with a tape recorder in hand. She spotted Nancy immediately and charged towards her.

"Why doesn't it surprise me that you're here, Nancy?" Brenda Carlton asked.

"What are you doing here, Brenda?" Nancy asked, annoyed.

"I was listening to the police radio and heard about a possible murder. It just screamed front page news, so I got over here as fast as I could," Brenda explained. "I answered your question, now you answer mine: What are you doing here?"

Nancy's grief was quickly being replaced by anger. "I came here when _my friend _didn't show up for dinner tonight! I came here and found that _my friend _had been murdered by some maniac in her own home! And now, I am out here, waiting for the police to finish up in there and take _my friend _to the morgue!"

Nancy didn't stop as Ned put a restraining hand on her shoulder. "Does that answer any question that you might have, Brenda? Or would you like me to go into detail about how she was butchered?" she asked, her voice loud.

Brenda flinched as if Nancy had slapped her in the face. "Nancy...I didn't know," she said, quietly.

"That's right–you didn't know," Nancy spat out. "So, why don't you go bother someone else for a story?"

Nancy pulled out of Ned's grasp and stormed away. Brenda stared after Nancy, mouth agape and then walked away to talk to an officer.

"Hey–you okay?" Ned asked, catching up to Nancy.

"Yes!...No!...I don't know," Nancy said. She looked at Ned and burst into tears. "I'm so sorry, Ned. I shouldn't have acted like that."

"It's okay," Ned said, soothingly. "You're hurting, Nancy."

Nancy said nothing, but sobbed into Ned's shoulder. He held her close, running his hand over her hair, making calming sounds.

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Excitement coursed through Dom's body as he heard the steady sound of the sirens approaching. He was across the street, hiding in the woods, watching with a pair of binoculars. Soon, the neighborhood would be buzzing with excitement on the news of a murder–a murder that was committed by him.

And he thought he would be nervous, considering it was his first murder. But he wasn't; in fact, it gave him an adrenaline rush, a euphoric high that couldn't be explained with words.

He smiled to himself as he remembered Ann's final moments. Sure she had been afraid, knowing that she was about to die. But she had been more afraid for her–for Nancy. He was absolutely sure now that Nancy had to be involved in this. He had fallen in love with Katie as he read the book and Nancy was his Katie.

He perked up when he saw her emerge from the house with her _boyfriend_–Yes, he would have to do something about that. Didn't Katie know she belonged to _him_? He watched with disgust as the boy held her close.

_His dear, sweet Katie._

He tore his gaze away from Katie as he saw a bright red, sports car pull to a stop in front of the

house. A little brunette emerged from the car and marched right up to Katie. He couldn't hear exactly what was being said, but he could see on Katie's expression that she was upset.

And he couldn't have that–_it wasn't acceptable!_

Maybe he could help out Katie and eliminate the problem for her. Yes...he would have to do just that.

Dom stood up from where he was crouched and smiled to himself.

_Looks like I have work to do._

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**Author's Note: First off, let me clear up something that may be confusing. In this story, Dom will refer to Nancy as "Katie", the heroine from Ann's story. As some of you have said, he is very intelligent, but he is also delusional at the same time. He gets his power from the book and he feeds on that power.**

**I see that the last chapter really got you going! I know it was mean for me to kill the Ann, but I'm thinking about the killer's feeling and not my own. And I see that a lot of you want Nancy and Ned together. I am going to try my best to make that happen, but we'll see how the story goes. But I love all of the wonderful suggestions and ideas that you are giving me. Feedback always helps me as I write, no matter what kind it is!**


	4. Just the Facts

**Author's Note: Wow, a lot of you are really weighing in on this story. I think it's neat how everyone wants something different to come from it. It really keeps me going and I'm hoping that I will please everyone, but even I know that's not possible. I am trying to get as many chills and thrills in it as I can. And also, I kind of made a decision to make Nancy the prime investigator in it. This meaning that the Hardy Boys won't really be helping a lot in the investigation phase, but will be there if Nancy needs to bounce ideas off of them. But they will be in the story (meaning River Heights) eventually. It's just that all of my stories have had all of them solving the case and I kind of want Nancy to take the reins of this one. If this disappoints some of you, I am very sorry. I will try my best to make it up to you! **

**TesubCalle: I loved your review and I am still scratching my head over the fertilizer and ventilator thing...I know, you must think I'm totally ditzy, but my brain isn't functioning like it should! Also, I am going to try not to have a lot of bloodshed, for meaningless reasons, because I do want Dom to have reasons for why he is doing this. There will be a few more murders and they will be connected to Nancy somehow. (And some of these murders may not make a few people too happy with me!)**

**And I know I may be begging here, but I have seen that I have a lot of hits on this story and I would really appreciate it if you would just leave a review if nothing more than saying "please update." This really helps me out because I do read all of my reviews!**

**Anyway, on with the story!**

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Nancy didn't even remember getting to bed. But somehow she had, because it was the next morning and she was waking up in her room. Last night had been rough on her...it was a night she never wanted to repeat again.

She got out of the bed and went to the bathroom to wash her face. She slipped on her robe and walked downstairs to see her father sitting at the kitchen table, reading the paper. _Brenda's paper, _Nancy thought with disgust. The front page screamed with the headline "Author Murdered in Home" and right under that was a big picture of Ann.

Nancy turned away from it and grabbed a coffee mug from the cabinet. She filled it up with coffee and sat down at the table.

Carson put down the paper and looked at his daughter. "How are you feeling, hon?"

Nancy barely looked up from her mug. "I honestly don't know, Dad."

"It's a real tragedy," her father commented. "She was a dear friend."

Nancy nodded her head. "So, what is Brenda saying about it?" she asked with feigned interest.

"She just has what the police told her," Carson stated. He looked at Nancy. "And also said that she had an emotional confrontation with you."

"No, she did not." Nancy grabbed the newspaper from the table and scanned the article. "I don't believe this!"

"What happened last night?" Carson asked.

Nancy threw down the paper and sighed. "I kind of went off on her last night. It was like she didn't have any consideration for Ann, Dad, and I couldn't accept that."

"You know you need to be careful about what you say in front of her, Nancy," Carson said.

"I know, Dad," Nancy said. "It's just–she's so..."

Carson got up from the table. "Well, I have to get to the office. Let me know when you find out funeral plans for Ann." He went over to his daughter and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

Nancy watched as he left the kitchen and heard him walk out the door. She grabbed her coffee mug and drained the last bit of coffee. Just as she was bringing it over to the sink, the telephone rang.

"Hello?" Nancy said.

"Nan...hey, it's me."

Nancy's heart did its usual flutter at the sound of Frank Hardy's voice. They had always had an attraction between the two of them, but Nancy had been totally devoted to Ned and Frank to Callie.

"Hey, Frank," Nancy said, trying to sound perky. "How are you?"

"Good," Frank said. "But I was really concerned about you."

"What are you talking about?" Nancy asked.

"I just heard about your friend's murder. It's on all the major news channels," Frank explained.

"What?" Nancy asked. She brought the cordless phone into the den and turned on the TV. Se flipped through CNN, Fox News, MSNBC–Frank was right; all of them were covering Ann's murder.

"Great," Nancy muttered.

"You didn't know," Frank said.

"No–I just got up," Nancy sighed. "I had to put up with Brenda last night. Ow, I guess I'll have to deal with this."

"Oh, yeah," Frank said, hesitating a little. "The Associated Press has picked up Brenda's story from the wires. It's in all of the papers here."

"Well, this has to be making her day," Nancy said.

"So, why don't you tell me the whole story?" Frank asked.

"What do you mean?" Nancy asked.

"Come on, Nan. You were there–what else happened?" Frank asked.

Nancy sat down on the sofa and sighed into the phone. "Ann was stabbed in the heart. There was a single pin rose lying next to her and there was a bouquet of flowers on a table near her and a note that promised more killings."

"So, you're dealing with a serial?" Frank said.

"Not yet, but I think we will, yes," Nancy answered.

"Are you going to investigate?" Frank asked.

"I really just want to get through the funeral first," Nancy said. "After that, I guess I'll make up my mind."

"Just know that I'm here if you need me," Frank said, quietly.

"Thanks, Frank," Nancy said with a small smile. "That really means a lot to me."

Just then another line beeped in on Nancy's phone. "Listen, Frank. I have someone trying to call me on the other line. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Sure," Frank said. "I mean it. If you need help, you give me a call. And be careful, Nancy."

Nancy didn't say anything but clicked over to the other line. "Hello?"

"Nancy...it's Jimmy," a man's voice said.

"Hey, Jimmy. What's up?" Nancy asked. Jimmy Miller was one of her good friends that worked at the morgue.

"Listen, I know that Ann Granger was a friend of yours. And I know that the odds are pretty good that you'll be looking into this case. And the lieutenant doesn't want me to really talk to you about this, but..." Jimmy trailed off.

"What is it, Jimmy?" Nancy asked.

"I found something while I was doing the autopsy. Can you come down here?" Jimmy asked.

Nancy's heart skipped a beat. _Maybe he found some evidence that would catch the killer before he struck again!_

"Thirty minutes okay?" Nancy asked.

"I'll be here," Jimmy said.

Nancy dashed upstairs and quickly slipped on a pair of jeans and a light sweater. She grabbed her cell phone and was out the door in ten minutes. She pulled up in front of the River Heights Morgue in twenty minutes.

Nancy pushed through the doors and saw that Jimmy was waiting for her in the lobby.

"I knew it wouldn't take you thirty minute," Jimmy said, smiling at her.

Nancy gave her friend a hug. "You know me too well, Jimmy."

"Well, follow me," Jimmy said. He led the way to his office that was adjacent to the autopsy room. Nancy cringed when she sawAnn's body lying on the table, covered by a white sheet.

Nancy sat down in a chair that Jimmy indicated and waited as he shut the door and sat down behind his desk.

"You look like crap, Nancy," Jimmy said.

"I feel like crap, Jimmy," Nancy said. "And you're lucky I don't have the energy to get up and slap you for that comment."

Jimmy chuckled and opened a folder that was lying on his desk. "Cause of death was a single stab wound to the heart. Killed her almost instantly, so she didn't suffer, in case you were wondering."

"That's a relief, I guess," Nancy said sadly.

"The reason I called you in here was because I found something that struck me as a little odd," Jimmy said.

"What is it?" Nancy asked.

Jimmy took a photo from the folder and passed it to Nancy. "What do you see in that photo?"

It was a head shot of Ann. Nancy studied the photo and at first, didn't see anything that was out of place. But wait...

"There's a chunk of her hair missing," Nancy said, shocked.

"Exactly," Jimmy said. "And it's a fresh cut."

"What was it cut with?" Nancy asked.

"It had to be a knife. I haven't found a pair of scissors that can do that sloppy of a cut," Jimmy said.

"Do the police know about this?" Nancy asked.

Jimmy nodded. "B.D. does. I talked to him right before I called you."

"And does he know that you called me?" Nancy asked.

Jimmy gave her a mischievous smile and shook his head. "I thought you could tell him yourself."

"Thanks," Nancy said, sarcastically. "So, does this mean the killer..."

Jimmy gave a grim nod. "I'm afraid so. This worries me, Nan. We've never had anything like this happen in River Heights. And after that note that the killer left at Ann's, I'm afraid it's only going to get worse."

"Me, too," Nancy said. "Why would he want her hair, though? It doesn't make sense."

"Nothing that these psychos does makes sense," Jimmy said.

"Well, thanks for telling me, Jimmy." Nancy gave the photo back to Jimmy and stood up.

"Nancy, I know I sound like a broken record here, but for God's sakes, be careful. I don't want this guy to do anything to you," Jimmy said.

"What makes you think he'll do something to me?" Nancy asked.

"Because I know you're not going to let the police handle this on their own. That means you'll be right in the middle of it," Jimmy said. "As soon as the killer sees you, he'll turn his sights on you."

"You don't have to tell me, Jimmy. I know," Nancy said. "But thanks, anyway."

"Anything for you, Nancy," Jimmy said.

Nancy left Jimmy to his work and walked out to her car. It seemed that everyone was worried about her and that scared her a little. Especially, since she hadn't even started to investigate yet.

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	5. Your Own Disaster

When Nancy walked into the River Heights Police Department, it was bustling with activity. It was very rare for the station to be buzzing like this, since the biggest crime around here was usually robberies. The murder was big news, especially since Ann was a prominent figure here in River Heights. The police station was small with a squad of only twenty men and women. Everyone there knew Nancy and if they didn't, it usually didn't take long before they did.

"Hey, Sandy," Nancy said to the petite redhead desk sergeant. "Is B.D. in?"

Sandy smiled at Nancy. "He actually just walked in. Go on back."

"Thanks," Nancy said with a smile. She walked on back until she was standing in front of B.D.'s office.

Nancy knocked on the door and didn't wait for him to answer. She stuck her head in the door and asked, "Can I come in?"

B.D. looked up from what he was doing and waved Nancy in. "Would it make any difference if I said no?"

Nancy shook his head. "I'm sure I would have hesitated for a least five seconds before I came in anyway."

B.D. smiled at her as she shut the door. "So, what can I do for you, Miss Drew?"

"Don't act like you don't know, B.D.," Nancy said. "We can beat around the bush all we want, but you know why I'm here."

"So, I take it you talked to Jimmy," B.D. said, leaning back in his chair. He put his feet on his desk and looked at Nancy as she sat down.

"You knew I would," Nancy said.

"I knew he would have called you eventually," B.D. said. "You sure have a way to make people do things for you. If only I could have that power."

"I never called Jimmy. He did it on his own free will," Nancy said. "Besides, you're not so bad yourself."

"Thanks," B.D. said, giving her a rueful grin.

"So, what do you think?" Nancy asked.

"You need to stay out of it," B.D. said.

"And here we are about to have the same argument again," Nancy said. "You know this would work a lot faster if we didn't do this every time."

"I know," B.D. said. "But I'm hoping one day that you'll actually listen to me."

"Don't hold your breath," Nancy said.

"To answer your question, I'm not really sure what the missing hair means," B.D. said, ignoring Nancy's last remark.

"Do you think's it's like a trophy for him or something?" Nancy asked.

"I think it's very possible. But we've never had to deal with something like this, so I couldn't tell you why the killer would do this," B.D. said. He rubbed a tired hand over his face.

"You haven't slept, have you?" Nancy asked.

"I took a cat nap, but other than that, I've been at Ann's house gathering evidence," he said.

"Have you found anything yet?" Nancy asked.

He shook his head. "Whoever did this knew what he was doing."

"Any suspects?" Nancy asked.

"We talked to the husband and her agent since they were the last to speak to her, but we haven't found anyone else," B.D. said.

He looked at Nancy and studied her. "I'm begging you not to get involved in this, Nancy."

"I'm not even involved in it, so all of this worrying is for nothing," Nancy said.

"But I know you, Nancy. You won't be able to let this go especially since Ann was your friend. You'll work that much harder and not care what happens unless you get the killer in the end," B.D. said. He continued before Nancy could say anything. "And how do you know you'll get him in the end. What's to stop him from getting you, Nancy?"

Nancy didn't know how to answer him. He was right–there was nothing she could argue with him about.

"So, that's it?" Nancy asked.

"Of course, I want your help, Nancy," B.D. said. "But you have to do it my way and not run off and land yourself in some serious trouble. One woman is already dead–I don't want you to be next. I don't know if I could take that."

Nancy looked up at B.D. and saw that he was staring right at her. Nancy didn't say anything but stood up and walked out of the office. B.D. sure had a way of making her feel bad. But he had done it for her own good, she knew that.

She looked at her watch and saw that it was now noon. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed Thomas's number. It rang four times before he answered.

"Thomas, it's Nancy," she said when he answered the phone.

"Nancy, hi," Thomas said.

"I was just calling to see about arrangements and what-not," she said.

"I still haven't made any. Could you come and help me, Nancy?" Thomas asked. "I don't think I can do it alone."

"Sure," Nancy said. "I'll be right there."

She got in her car and took off towards Thomas's house.

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Dom was feeling pretty good about himself right now. He had the desired effect that he had wanted. The murder had caused an uproar in the small town of River Heights. He had even heard that it was very rare for a murder to happen here. And the wonderful thing...he wasn't even done yet.

He would bring the town of River Heights to their knees.

He looked at the computer screen and smiled. It was amazing the information you could find out about a person on the Internet. All he had to do was type in a name and he knew that person even better than they knew themselves. And he had to admit, he was very impressed with all of the information he was finding out about his Katie.

Apparently, she had a few fans around the world. Every single one of her cases was documented, so he could find out how she worked. He knew almost every single one of her weaknesses. But, of course, that was obvious last night. To get to her, you took away someone that she loved.

But, then again, wasn't that every human's weakness?

He was gathering quite a collection on her. In fact, his walls were covered with papers and pictures of her from the Internet. But he still wanted more. He needed to feel as if he was closer to her; he needed to feel as if she was in the room with him.

He needed her to know that she was with _him_.

And he had a general idea about how to do that. He took out the lock of hair that was in the plastic baggie and sniffed it. Of course, it didn't compare to Katie's hair. He couldn't wait until he held her beautiful life in his hands. He wanted her to beg; he wanted her to _scream_.

He grabbed a pair of gloves and slipped them on. Then, he picked up a standard white envelope and slipped the hair inside. There was no point in leaving a note. He has sure that he had made his point last night. Besides, he would be in contact with her soon enough.

Dom sealed the envelope, being careful to use a towel soaked with water and not his own saliva. Technology was wonderful today and he didn't want to be caught because of carelessness. It wasn't like that in the book and he had to follow the book. He _was _the book.

_Well, time to make a delivery, _he thought, smiling to himself.

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When Nancy got back to her house that evening, she was exhausted and emotionally drained. She had spent the entire afternoon with Thomas, making funeral arrangements for Ann. It had been difficult for both of them, but especially Thomas. And to make matters worse, they had been followed by nosy reporters all day.

The funeral was to be held in a couple of days and Nancy dreaded the day. She knew it would be nothing but a media circus. She had just found out that the sales had skyrocketed for _Never Again_. She thought it ironic how it took the death of the author to make her dream come true.

Nancy went up to her room and saw the book lying on the desk in her room. She really should finish it, if nothing but for Ann's memory. It had been something that she had been proud of and Nancy didn't want to ruin that for her.

She slipped into her pajamas and grabbed the book. She went downstairs, into the living room, and settled in the huge, soft recliner. Her father had to go to Chicago for the night and Hannah was out of town, visiting family. So that just left Nancy alone in the peace and quiet of her home.

She opened the book and began to read where she had left off. _Ann surely knew how to deliver, _Nancy thought to herself. The book had barely started and she was already getting you into the killer's mind.

_Definitely chilling, _Nancy thought.

She continued to read a bit more when she thought she heard a noise coming from outside. She marked her place and set the book down and listened. She thought her mind was playing tricks in her when she heard the faint shuffle of a foot.

Nancy got up from the chair and grabbed a poker that was standing beside the fireplace. She raised it up above her head and quietly made her way to the front door. If there was someone out there, she didn't want to be vulnerable to them. She didn't hear anything for a couple of minutes so she opened the door and saw a white envelope lying on the "Welcome" mat in front of the door.

Stepping out the door, Nancy looked up and down the street with the poker raised high, but didn't see anyone. Whoever it was, they were long gone by now.

Nancy picked up the envelope and walked back into her house. She made sure she locked the door and then tore open the envelope. ON the outside of the envelope was the name "Katie". _That's weird, _she thought. Inside she found a single lock of hair–_Ann's hair_, she immediately thought. She felt a chill go through her body and tried to shake away the uneasy feeling that was coming over her.

She didn't have proof that this was Ann's hair. But it was the same color and size of the chunk that had been cut from her hair.

Still...

Nancy shook her head and put the lock of hair back in the envelope. She would just take it to B.D. the next morning and he would be able to tell her if it was Ann's or not.

Nancy turned out the downstairs lights and went up to her room. It was a good hour before she could calm her nerves and finally go to sleep.

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When Nancy woke the next morning, she was feeling even more uneasy than the night before. Wile she did get some sleep, the rest was fraught with nightmares. She didn't like the hair in the envelope and the more that she thought about it, the more she couldn't shake the feeling that it belonged to Ann. It coincided perfectly with what Jimmy had told her and she knew it wouldn't be too hard to prove that it was hers.

But if it turned out to be Ann's, then that proved two things: 1) The killer was getting her involved whether she wanted to be or not and 2) he knew where she lived–and that freaked her out more than anything.

Well, she couldn't stay in bed all day and try to figure it out. She would only drive herself crazy doing that. She quickly slipped on some clothes and grabbed the envelope. It was then that she spotted the name on the front again. _Katie? _Why would the killer write that name on the front of the envelope? Katie was the heroine from Ann's book...did that have anything to do with her murder?

Nancy grabbed her keys and fifteen minutes later she was knocking on the door of B.D.'s office. She didn't wait for him to answer.

"Either, you're really missing me lately or you're into something that you shouldn't be," B.D. said when she walked in.

"A little bit of both, actually," Nancy said.

"The first I would have been very happy with, but the second one worries me," he said, frowning.

"Believe me, I had every intention of not being involved in this," Nancy said. She handed him the envelope. "Looks like I don't have much of a choice, though."

B.D. looked at the name that had been written on the front of the envelope. "Katie? Why does it have that name on it if it's for you?"

"Well, I'll tell you what," Nancy said. "Whenever I see our killer, I'll be sure to ask him that for you."

B.D. narrowed his eyes at her. "You didn't have to answer like that."

Nancy smiled sweetly at him. "You ask a stupid question, you get a stupid answer."

B.D. ignored her and looked inside the envelope. "Is this some kind of joke?" he asked.

"I really hope that it is," Nancy said, honestly.

"But we both know it isn't," B.D. said. "The media has no idea about the missing hair. We've managed to keep that under wraps." He picked up his phone and dialed an extension. "Get someone in here, immediately."

Ten seconds later, a nervous-looking deputy walked into B.D's office. "Get this over to Jimmy at the morgue. I want to know if this belongs to Ann Granger."

The deputy nodded and took the envelope from him. B.D. looked at Nancy and sighed. "He wants himself to be known. And he's chosen you as his message board."

"I know," Nancy said.

"When did you find the envelope?" B.D. asked.

"Last night. I was reading and I heard something outside. I waited until I didn't hear the noise anymore and then I went outside. I found it in front of my door," Nancy explained.

"What if he wasn't gone? What if he knew you would come outside and see what was going on?" B.D. asked.

"I didn't even think about that," Nancy admitted.

"You have to be more cautious about these things, Nancy. Especially since he knows where you live," B.D. said.

"Well, so does everyone in River Heights. Does that mean I can't go out my door and talk to any of my neighbors?" Nancy asked.

He ignored her. "I want a guard put on you."

Nancy shook her head. "Not gonna happen. He hasn't even done anything to me. All he did was send me some hair."

"But he knows where you live, Nancy," B.D. said, solemnly. "I don't want to give him the chance to try to do anything to you."

"I'll be careful," Nancy said. "You know I can handle myself."

"Against a killer?" he asked.

Nancy was about to say something else, but there was a knock on the office door. Nancy and B.D. looked up just as Jimmy stuck his head in.

"Am I interrupting anything?" Jimmy asked.

"No, Jimmy. Come on in," B.D. said. "What have you got?"

Jimmy looked at Nancy and then looked at B.D., guiltily.

"Whatever you have to say, you can say it in front of Nancy. You'd tell her anyway," B.D. said.

Jimmy let out a sigh of relief and handed a sheet of paper to him. "That hair sample you sent over–it's a definite match for Ann Granger."

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**Author's Note: The end of another chapter...I admit the whole hair thing is really creepy, but it's a part of who Dom is. And a lot of you are worried that I am going to be killing off core characters. I have to assure you right now, that I can't do that. It would devastate me since I am really devoted to these characters. When I said that the murders wouldn't make you happy, I was mostly talking about the violence factor. I am not giving anything away because my ideas change. Again, let me know what you think!**


	6. I Will Remember You

The next morning, Nancy was at the graveyard, watching as Ann's casket was being lowered into the ground. It had been a simple service and Nancy didn't expect the turnout that had come to pay their respects to Ann. _She would have been proud to know that she was so beloved_, Nancy thought sadly.

She looked around at the mourners that were at the grave site and saw faces that she knew well–Bess, George, Ned, B.D., Carson, and, of course, Thomas. He was trying to put up a brave front, but Nancy could see he was quickly losing the battle. She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze and he gave her a small, sad smile. She then stepped forward and threw a single white lily–Ann's favorite–into the grave.

When Nancy looked up, she saw a face she preferred not to see–Brenda Carlton. _Here to get another story, _Nancy thought miserably. She saw Brenda give her a shrewd look, as if daring her to another confrontation. Nancy ignored her and walked into Ned's open arms. She wasn't about to let Brenda ruin this. He held her close as she sobbed into his chest.

The funeral lasted for a few more minutes, as everyone threw lilies into the grave. Then mostly everyone drove over to the Drew home for the reception. Nancy had volunteered to have the reception at her house, to ease some of the burden on Thomas.

"It was a beautiful service," Bess said to Nancy.

Nancy gave her a sad smile. "Yes, it was."

"Are you okay?" Bess asked.

Nancy nodded. "I will be. Actually, I need to talk to you and George in private."

Bess and George looked at her, concerned, but they followed her into her father's study. When Nancy closed the door the immediately turned on her.

"What's going on, Nan?" George asked.

"Yeah–what's with all the cloak-and-dagger stuff?" Bess chimed in.

"I need you to do something for me," Nancy said.

"Anything," Bess and George said at the same time.

"Good–just remember that you said that," Nancy said. She took a deep breath. "I need you guys to get out of town."

"What?" Bess asked.

"Why?" George asked.

"This guy that killed Ann...we fear that he may kill again," Nancy explained.

"So, why do we need to leave?" George asked.

"Because B.D. thinks he's targeting me now," Nancy said.

"Why does he think that?" Bess asked.

"What I'm about to tell you cannot leave this room," Nancy said. When the cousins nodded, she continued, "The media doesn't know, but a chunk of hair was missing from Ann. The killer then sent it to me yesterday. I was never going to get involved in this, but he hasn't left me much of a choice."

"We can help you," George said.

Nancy shook her head.

"Why are you shaking your head? We've helped you out on a lot of your cases," Bess said.

"I know you have, but this one is different. You told me you would do anything for me, this is it," Nancy said. "You have to get out of town."

"And leave you alone to face this psycho?" George asked.

"Please don't argue with me," Nancy said. "That is the last thing that I need."

"But–" Bess began.

"_Please_," Nancy pleaded. "I've already buried one friend; I couldn't make it if I had to bury two more."

Seeing the tears in Nancy's eyes, the cousins couldn't say anything. They had never seen Nancy this emotional. They just looked at each other and nodded.

"We'll leave tonight," Bess said.

Nancy let out a relieved sigh. "Thank you, guys. Really...this means a lot to me."

"Do you want to know where we'll be going?" George asked.

Nancy shook his head. "It's better if I didn't." She hugged her two friends and gave a small chuckle. "We better get out there before they come rushing in, looking for us."

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_It had been a good idea to go to the funeral, _Dom thought to himself as he entered his tiny apartment. He had gotten to see all of the faces full of pain, the pain that he had inflicted. And he felt really good about that pain.

He didn't expect that much of a turnout and it gave him a thrill. If that many people would mourn a woman who finally gained fame for writing a book, how many would mourn his dear Katie? Oh, yes–he had already decided that Katie would die. She had to; she wasn't killed in the book, so he had to make good on that now.

And seeing sweet Katie at the funeral...wow! That provided him with the most happiness. She had even looked right at him, but at the same time didn't see him at all. And all because of that stupid girl reporter.

After seeing the look in Katie's eyes when she saw her, he knew for sure now that the reporter would have to be taken care of. She was doing nothing but making Katie miserable and she couldn't do that. That was his job.

Dom looked at the picture he had managed to grab while he was in Katie's house. She was smiling back at him with that beautiful smile. How sweet it was to let complete strangers into her home. Didn't she know any better?

He folded the picture back up and slipped it into his pocket. Now Katie would be with him every time he killed. It would be as if she was right beside him, holding his hand as took away another life.

He sat in his chair and grabbed his copy of _Never Again_. He had all the murders highlighted with words written in the margins–just little things he added to make things a little more interesting. The finale was what gave him the most pleasure; the finale was going to be great.

But for now, he had to concentrate on Brenda Carlton. She was the next problem to be eliminated.

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Nancy closed the door after Thomas and leaned against it. It was now nine o'clock and she was finally alone in the house with Carson and Ned.

"You did good, honey," Carson said when Nancy came into the living room.

She sat down on the couch and kicked off her heels. It felt good to finally get them off. "I know. I'm just glad I could help out Thomas."

"You've helped him out more than you realize," Carson said."I know you don't remember too well, but when your mother died, everyone wanted to help. If I wasn't so stubborn, I would have realized that and accepted the help."

Nancy gave her father a small smile. "So, are you going back to Chicago?"

Carson nodded. "Tomorrow morning. I'm too tired to make the drive back tonight."

"I actually think I'm about to call it night, too," Nancy said.

"And I guess that's my cue to leave," Ned said, standing up.

"I'm going to bed, too," Carson said. He shook Ned's hand. "I want you to keep an eye on my daughter, Ned."

"Yes sir," Ned said, shaking his hand.

Carson gave Nancy a kiss on the cheek and walked upstairs to his room. Nancy grabbed Ned by the hand and walked him to the door.

"So, why did your dad say that?" Ned asked.

"Apparently B.D. talked to him today," Nancy grumbled. "Remind me I need to thank him for that."

Ned laughed. "I'll be sure to do that. So, did you get a chance to talk to Bess and George?"

Nancy nodded. "They're leaving tonight. I told them not to tell me where they were going. I thought they would be safer."

"It's a good plan," Ned agreed.

"I still wish that you would listen to me, though," Nancy said, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Not gonna happen, Drew. You're stuck with me until the end," Ned said, hugging her.

"Glad to know that, Nickerson," Nancy said, smiling.

Ned smiled down at her and their lips met in a kiss.

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Brenda Carlton was glad to be off of work. She walked out of the offices of _Today's Times, _the local newspaper that was owned by her father, Frazier Carlton, and let out a huge sigh of relief She was the last one out of the office, having put her finishing touches on the follow-up story on Ann Granger. A story that had given her national headlines and notoriety.

She knew she probably shouldn't have shown up at the funeral, but a reporter never got her story by sitting on the sidelines. And so what if Nancy didn't like it? It's not exactly as if she was supplying her with a vast amount of information for stories. And she didn't miss the hurt on Nancy's face when she had seen her at the funeral. And while a tiny bit of her felt bad, the other was happy to know that she was hurting Nancy. They had never gotten along anyway, so why should she care if she hurt her feelings now?

Brenda walked out to the employee parking lot and spotted her candy apple red sports car her father had given to her for her twenty-first birthday. It was her baby–she took great care of it, bringing it in for it's regular check-ups.

Brenda stopped when she thought the heard the faint shuffle of a foot behind her. She turned around, but saw nothing. _It's okay, Brenda. You're mind is just playing games with you._

She reached into her purse and grabbed her set of keys. She still couldn't chake the feeling that someone was behind her. Just as she was putting the key into the lock, someone rushed her and pushed her against the car. Brenda let out a scream and let her purse fall on the ground.

"What do you want? Brenda demanded. "My car? Take it! I have money in my wallet!"

"I don't want anything you can give me," the man said.

"Wha-What do you want?" Brenda asked. _What was with this guy?_

"You shouldn't have upset Katie like that," he said.

_Oh, great...a disgruntled fan. _"Katie? Who's Katie?"

"You know who Katie is," he said softly.

Brenda watched out of the corner of her eye as he pulled something from his pocket. It was a rope.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Just taking care of a problem," he said. He looped the rope around his hands and pulled it taut.

_He's going to strangle me! _Brenda realized. She tried to struggle out of his grasp, but he held her firmly against the car with his body.

Her strangled screams could be heard echoing in the chilly night.

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**Author's Note: And now another murder...If you were a fan of Brenda's, then I am sorry. But I, personally, never could stand her and I guess in my own twisted way, this was my chance to get rid of her. I'm bad...I know. But Dom saw her as a problem for Nancy, and he doesn't like problems. I also had someone comment that there wasn't enough Ned in the story and they are right. But in the genre category, I never said this would be a romance. I have Ned in the story, which is something that I don't do. But this is Nancy and Dom's story. **

**It was also said that Nancy and B.D. were flirting with each other too much, and really, they're not. They are just good friends with a respectable work relationship. They like to joke around and keep things as light as they can. I have always liked the character of B.D. from the _Nancy Drew Files_, and I just wanted him to be included in this one. But I am glad that you are telling me your thoughts and your suggestions. They are very helpful to me!**

**Also, it will be a few days before I can get another update out because I am going to my best friend's to help her paint her house. Also, I will be starting college on Monday, so that means it will take me a little longer to get chapters out. But I will keep updating! **


	7. Revelations

Nancy was jarred awake by the ringing of her telephone. She looked over at her digital alarm clock and the bright red numbers said it was two o'clock. _Oh, this had better be good, _she thought, silently cursing her phone.

"Yeah?" she said, as way of answering it.

"Nancy? It's B.D.," the voice on the other end said.

Nancy was wide awake now. She knew that B.D. wouldn't be calling unless something was wrong.

"What's going on, B.D.?" Nancy asked.

"I need you to come down to the _Today's Times _offices. Meet me in the parking lot," B.D. said.

"I'll be there as soon as I can," Nancy said, throwing back the covers. She hung up the phone and threw on some pants and a sweatshirt. She put on her tennis shoes and scribbled a note for her father, not knowing how long she would be out.

When Nancy arrived at the _Times _offices, she saw several police cruisers with their lights flashing. Before she was even able to get out of her car, B.D. was walking towards her.

"B.D., what happened?" Nancy asked.

"He struck again, Nancy," B.D. said, grimly.

"What? Who?" Nancy asked.

"Brenda Carlton," B.D. said.

Nancy looked at him with wide eyes. Sure, she and Brenda never got along, but Nancy never wanted her _dead_. She felt as if someone had hit her in the stomach and she was trying to catch her breath.

"How?" Nancy asked, softly.

"She was strangled," B.D. said. "There's something else you need to see."

B.D. led the way to where Brenda's bright red car was sitting. Nancy could see a chalk outline, but no sign of Brenda's body.

"The coroner's already come," B.D. answered, seeing where Nancy was looking. "Jimmy's doing the autopsy now."

Nancy nodded numbly. He grabbed an evidence bag off the hood of the car and handed it to Nancy. She took it from him and saw what was in it. There was another note.

"'Two are gone, but I'm not through; Who's next, you ask? It could be you,'" Nancy read aloud. "Great–another stupid poem."

B.D. nodded his head. "He promises even more murders."

"And we're not any closer to finding out who he is," Nancy said. She looked on the hood and saw another pink rose. "What's with the flowers?"

"We don't know," B.D. said. "The only thing we can figure is it's his calling card."

"Did you check to see if her hair was missing?" Nancy asked.

"I didn't really get a chance to see, but I told Jimmy to be on the lookout for it," B.D. said.

Nancy nodded. "There has to be something, B.D.; something that we're missing."

"If you know what it is, Nancy, I'm all ears," B.D. said.

"If I knew that, this guy would be in jail by now," Nancy said.

"Yeah, well..." B.D. didn't finish his thought. "I'm heading down to the station. Do you want to come with me?"

"I'll bring my own car," Nancy said. Then a sudden thought hit her. "Has anyone called her parents?"

"We've tried, but there hasn't been any answer," B.D. said. "We'll keep on trying."

Nancy nodded. "I'll meet you at the station," she said.

She got in her car and followed B.D. down to the police station. Before they could even get into the station, they were bombarded by reporters.

"Who the hell tipped them off?" B.D. grumbled.

Nancy didn't say anything, but followed him in as the reporters fired questions at them.

"How do you explain the latest murder?"

"Why haven't you caught the killer?"

"Do you even have any suspects?"

"How long do the citizens of River Heights have to live in fear?"

B.D. waved them off with a "no comment" and pushed through the doors, letting Nancy pass before him.

"Someone get those reporters away from here!" B.D. shouted as he entered. "Tell them we will hold a press conference later on in the day."

He strode right for his office and flung the door open. He went to his desk and picked up his phone.

"Jimmy, tell me you got something for me," B.D. said warily into the phone.

"She died of asphyxiation due to strangulation," Jimmy said.

"What about the hair?" B.D. asked.

"Chunk of it's missing, just like Granger," Jimmy said.

"Thanks, Jimmy," B.D. said. He hung up the phone and ran and hand over his tired face.

"What did Jimmy say?" Nancy asked softly.

"She died of strangulation and the S.O.B. got a chunk of her hair," B.D. said.

"Why would he change his method, but take the hair again?" Nancy asked.

"I don't know, Nancy," B.D. said. "I don't even want to try to get into this psycho's mind."

"Where is he?" A voice shouted from the outer room.

Nancy and B.D. looked at each other and walked out of the office. Standing out in the lobby was a very disheveled and angry Frazier Carlton.

Frazier spotted B.D. and stormed up to him.

"This is all your fault!"

B.D. held up a calming hand. "Mr. Carlton, I'm going to have to ask you to lower your voice."

"Lower my voice!" Frazier bellowed. "My daughter is dead and you want me to lower my voice?"

"I'm very sorry for your loss, Mr. Carlton," Nancy said quietly.

Frazier turned on Nancy. "You're sorry. Is that all you can say? You never got along with my daughter and here you are trying to offer me your condolences. Well, you know what? They mean nothing to me! For all I know, what happened to my daughter was all your fault!"

Nancy tried not to let his words affect her, but it was hard. She was already blaming herself for what had been happening and here he was voicing it and making it real.

"I know that Brenda and I never got along, but I would never wish for anything like this to have happened to her," Nancy said, with a strained voice.

"Well, your wishes mean nothing to me right now," Frazier said, through clenched teeth. "I wish it had been you, Miss Drew. I wish it had been you who had died tonight!"

B.D. stepped in front of Nancy and put a hand on Frazier's chest. "I understand that you just lost your daughter, Mr. Carlton. But that is no reason at all to blame Nancy for her death or to wish the same thing to happen to her. Nancy had no control over what happened to Brenda."

The color drained from Frazier's face and he seemed to lose his momentum. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "She was my little girl. That monster took away my little girl."

He fell into a heap on the floor and broke down, sobbing. As Nancy watched him, she could feel her heart aching for him. The words that he had just said to her stung, but she also knew they were spoken out of grief and pain. She leaned down beside him and put a comforting hand on his back.

"We'll find him, Mr. Carlton," Nancy said. "I know that does nothing to bring Brenda back, but we will find him and when we do, he'll pay for everything."

Frazier looked up at Nancy through teary eyes. "Thank you, Nancy."

Nancy nodded and looked up at B.D. He nodded to one of his officers who came over to them.

"Mr. Carlton, I hate to ask you to do this, but I need you to follow Officer Richards to the morgue to identify Brenda's body," B.D. said quietly.

Frazier looked up at B.D., horrified.

"Mr. Carlton, if you don't feel up to it, I could do it for you," Nancy said.

"No...thank you, Nancy," Frazier said. "I should be the one to do it."

Officer Richards helped Frazier up from the floor and led him out the door.

"Are you okay?" B.D. asked Nancy.

Nancy nodded. "He didn't mean what he said, B.D. He's hurting."

"Still..." B.D. said. He ran a hand through his hair. "Listen, Nancy–why don't you head home? There's nothing else that can be done right now."

"Are you sure?" Nancy asked.

B.D. nodded. "Will you let one of my officers follow you?"

Nancy didn't feel like arguing with him and she could see that it would put him at ease. "Sure."

B.D. smiled at her for the first time that night.

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When Nancy got back to her house, she saw that it was five o'clock. She was tired, but yet, she couldn't force herself to go to sleep. She was anxious and she couldn't shake the chill that kept going down her spine. Thoughts kept swirling in her mind. _What was this guy's game? Why did he seem to be killing people who were associated with her? How many more people was he planning to kill? Would it ever stop? And what was with the name Katie?_

Nancy shook her head, as if that would clear everything that was going on in her mind. Her eyes wandered around her room until they rested on Ann's book. _Why do I always come back to the book?_

That thought nagging her, Nancy picked up the book and flipped through the pages. She landed on the first murder, and her eyes widened. _The first victim was stabbed once through the heart._ She kept on reading and was shocked to see the killer in the book left a single pink rose and a note with the victim.

_No way_, Nancy thought.

She quickly flipped through the pages until she found the second murder. _The victim had been strangled and there was also another pink rose and a note._

"That's what the killer's doing," Nancy said to herself. She could hear her heart thudding in her chest. "He's copying the murders from Ann's book!"

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**Author's Note: I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I'm sorry! I know it's been a lull in the update and you are probably going crazy! But like I said, I started school this week and I had to write in the little breaks that I didn't have homework. I will try to be a little more frequent, but I will not promise anything.**

**For the most part, everyone was really glad that I killed off Brenda. Apparently, I'm not the only one that didn't like her. So that either makes me really morbid or you really morbid. (We can decide that one later.I tend to think I am, though.) And someone said that it took a lot for me to kill off a core character, and they were right. I still back up the murder, because it needed to happen. When these murders happen, remember, I'm not trying to think about it with my feelings, but with Dom's.**

**Well, let me know what you think and I will try to have another update soon!**


	8. Let Me Down

"B.D.! I know what he's going to do next!"

It was later that morning and Nancy was excited. Well, as excited as she could be while there was a killer on the loose. She didn't even care that she had yelled across the police station. This was the first break–semi-break–they had. And even though they still had no idea who was behind the murders, she would take anything that she could get.

"Well, Nancy," B.D. said, striding up to her. "You certainly know how to make an entrance."

"You should stick around and see my exit," Nancy said, grinning.

B.D. grinned back at her. "So, what did you come in here yelling about?"

Nancy held up her copy of _Never Again_. "This is how he is doing the murders."

"This I have to hear," B.D. said. He put a hand on her back and ushered her in front of him. "Come to my office."

He pointed to a chair, but Nancy couldn't sit down.

"Now what is this nonsense about the book?" B.D. said, looking at her, amused.

"Have you read the book?" Nancy asked.

"I can't say that I've had the time," he said, sarcastically. "I've been kind of swamped by these pesky murders."

"I'm talking about the murders," Nancy said, annoyed. She held up the book again. "He is copying the murders from the _book_."

"Okay, Nancy–now I think you're just trying to grasp at anything," he said.

Nancy rolled her eyes and pushed the book across the desk at him. "Just look at the pages that I have marked."

B.D. looked at her and slowly picked up the book. He reluctantly opened it and read over the pages that she had marked.

"You were serious," B.D. said after he read it.

"Uh...yeah," Nancy said. "I can't believe that you didn't believe me!"

"Well, I'm sorry, Nancy. But when you come in here, waving a book and saying that this is how that psycho is killing people, I tend to have a hard time believing you," he said.

"It is not that out there," Nancy said. "He has to get his inspiration from somewhere. What better place than a book that gives you every single detail about a murder?"

"But the murders haven't been exact," B.D. said. "What about the missing hair? I didn't see that in any of the pages you marked."

"I know," Nancy said. "I read that book cover-to-cover and I never saw any mention of missing hair. So, apparently, he has some kind of sick fetish about hair."

"That's obvious," B.D. said, handing the book bak to her. "And now I see where he got the name 'Katie'."

"I think he thinks he's really living the book. It's the only way to explain it. He thinks _he's _the killer in the book," Nancy said.

"And he thinks of you as Katie–the heroine of the book," B.D. said, slowly.

Nancy nodded. "Yeah."

"Do I want to know how the book ends?" he asked.

Nancy looked down at her feet. "Well...Katie lives. So, that's a good thing, right?"

"A good thing? B.D. asked. "That means he comes after you. The better thing would be if he didn't do it at all."

"I agree," Nancy said.

"Look, Nancy...I really wish you would reconsider letting me put a guard on to watch you," B.D. said.

"B.D., I appreciate the concern. I really do," Nancy said. "But I can't do it. If he's going by the book, he won't let anything or anyone stand in his way. The ending will come true, whether we want it to or not."

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Dom flipped off the television and chuckled to himself. The police had just held a press conference, trying to calm down the fair citizens of River Heights. But there was nothing that the police could say that would calm down. They were living in fear and he was the cause of it all.

But what really struck him was the fact that he had no emotion at all about Brenda Carlton's murder. He wasn't feeling guilty and it wasn't pleasing for him. Sure, he had gotten her out of Katie's way, but it didn't seem to be enough. He needed more–he _wanted _more.

Katie had been upset about the murder, but who wasn't? But Katie didn't seem to have any fear. Or was it she was disappointed in him?

_No!_ Dom's mind screamed. He felt as if someone had pulled the rug right from under his feet. _That couldn't happen! _He couldn't disappoint Katie.

He pulled out the picture of Katie and ran a finger across her face. He had cut the boyfriend out of the picture so that she was the only one staring back at him. He couldn't take care of the boyfriend yet. He had plans and he couldn't let his nerves get the best of him.

"Is that true, Katie?" Dom asked, softly. "Am I letting you down?"

He stared at the picture, as if urging her to say something to him. He needed to know he wasn't a disappointment to her. Everything he was doing, it was for her! Why couldn't she see that?

Dom grabbed the glass he had been drinking from and screamed in frustration as he threw it against the wall. He didn't even worry about the neighbors hearing him. He felt mild satisfaction as the glass shattered into thousands of tiny pieces.

But only mild–he needed to do something that would excite him. He needed to do something that would make Katie proud.

Or maybe he needed to do something that would take her by surprise. After all, she didn't seem to be _that _worried about him.

Maybe it was time to being out some of the fear.

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"Ned, all I have to do is change my clothes and then we can go to the movie," Nancy said, as she unlocked the door to her house.

Ned sighed behind her and put his hands on her shoulders as she pushed the door open. "And what is wrong with what you have on?"

Nancy gave Ned a disbelieving look. "Ned, in all the years that we've been dating, have you ever seen me wear the same outfit on a date that I've been wearing all day?"

Ned held up his hands in surrender. "Forget I even said anything."

"I'll be right down," Nancy said over her shoulder as she climbed up the stairs.

"And I'll hold my breath," Ned said.

Ten minutes later, Nancy was downstairs ready for their date. It felt really good to be going out with Ned tonight. Maybe for the next few hours she could put the murders behind her and concentrate on something that made her happy.

She could see that Ned was staring at the small table that was beside the door.

"What's wrong?" Nancy asked.

"There's something missing," Ned said, thoughtfully.

"What?" Nancy asked. She walked over to him and looked at the pictures that were sitting on the table.

"Where's the picture of you and me?" Ned asked.

"It should be here," Nancy said.

"Well, it's not," Ned said. "Did you move it and just forget?"

"No, I haven't even touched them," Nancy said. "Maybe Dad or Hannah moved it. Or maybe it fell."

They looked on the floor by the table, but there was no sign of the picture.

"Ned, I honestly don't know where it is," Nancy said. "It's been here for the longest time."

"Well, maybe you were right," Ned said. "Maybe Hannah moved it and just forgot to tell you."

"She usually tells me when she does something like that," Nancy said.

"Look, just forget that I said anything about it," Ned said. "We can look for it when we get back. Let's just get to the movie before it starts."

"All right," Nancy said. Ned walked out ahead of her and she stopped before she shut the door. The picture was there a couple of days ago, so where was it now?

Nancy felt a chill go down her spine as she shut the door. Was it like she said and it had been moved? Or did someone take it? But why would someone want a picture of her and Ned? Who would want a picture of her and Ned?

But then Nancy could think of only one person. The killer.

The killer had been in her house and she never even knew.

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**Author's Note: Well, at least it's not that bad of a cliffhanger this time. And I know this isn't that long of a chapter, but at least you have one, right? Bet you're wondering what Dom will do next, huh? I am, too, because I really have no idea. He's a tricky little devil...By the way, I promise that the Hardy boys will be in the story. You just have to be patient and wait a little longer. Oh, and just so you know...I have yet another hurricane headed my way, so wish me luck!**

**Liz I am not going into the criminal justice field. I considered it long ago, but realized I couldn't ever make it. But if you are wondering, I'm going into the English field. I plan to teach high school. Which, really, when I think about it, police work might be safer!**

**Steph Yes, I did get that chapter title from the Taking Back Sunday song. I wondered if anybody would catch that. I absolutely love that song and I couldn't think of a good chapter title, so I went for a song.**

**Let me know what you think!**


	9. Worries and Mistakes

"That was a pretty good movie," Ned said as he and Nancy walked out of the River Heights Cineplex. He grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips.

"Yeah," Nancy said, absently.

"I think my favorite part was the huge explosion at the very end," Ned said.

"Uh-huh," Nancy said.

"But, of course, I didn't really pay much attention to the movie because of the hot brunette that was sitting next to me," Ned said, giving her a sidelong glance.

"Me too, Ned," Nancy said.

Ned stopped and stood in front of Nancy, causing her to walk into his chest. "Okay, Drew–now I _know _you're not paying attention to me."

"What?" Nancy finally looked at him and sighed. "I'm sorry, Ned. I just can't stop thinking about that missing picture."

"Nancy, I told you not to worry about it," Ned said.

"But, Ned–the more I think about it, the more it bothers me. I know that the picture was there a couple of days ago. I remember glancing at it. And Hannah's been out of town since last Friday, so I know she didn't move it," Nancy explained.

"It feels like we're having the same conversation again," Ned said, groaning.

"I recognize that tree," Nancy joked. "So we'll keep having this conversation until I can figure it out," Nancy said.

"We may as well make ourselves comfortable," Ned said, indicating a bench on the sidewalk.

"Thank you," Nancy said, sitting down.

"Okay, where were we?" Ned asked.

"The missing picture," Nancy said.

Ned nodded. "Right. If Hannah was out of town, she didn't move it. So, what about your dad?"

Nancy shook her head. "He hasn't been home long enough to move anything."

"Well, I don't know, then," Ned said. "I'm all out of ideas."

"I have one more," Nancy said. "But it's one that I know you won't be happy about."

"You might as well tell me," Ned said. "I'll find out anyway."

"I guess I should from the beginning," Nancy said. She looked up at the starry sky and took a deep breath. "I found out this morning how the killer was getting his ideas. He's copying the murders from _Never Again_. The killer in the book killed his victims and then left a poem and a pink rose after each murder."

"So, you have a break in the case," Ned said.

"How do you figure?" Nancy asked, confused.

"If he's following Ann's book, then you'll know how he kills," Ned explained.

"Yeah, but that doesn't tell us who the next victim is or when the next murder will happen," Nancy pointed out.

"I forgot about that," Ned said, a little embarrassed.

Nancy grinned at him and continued. "And it doesn't ell us the most important thing: who the killer is. The only thing that B.D. and I can figure is he believes that he's the killer in the book."

Ned whistled. "Wow–talk about a nut job."

"Isn't that the truth," Nancy said. "Do you remember the lock of hair that was left on my doorstep?"

Ned nodded.

"That's the only thing that the killer has done that wasn't written in the book," Nancy said. "But the envelope that the hair was left in was addressed to 'Katie'. That's also the name of the heroine in Ann's book."

Ned's eyes widened as he began to put things together. "So, this guy is so delusional that he thinks _you're _Katie. He's bringing the book to life."

Nancy nodded. "I'm afraid so. When you told me that the picture was thinking, my last thought before we left my house, was that the killer had been there and he took it."

"You're right. I don't like this at all," Ned said.

"Don't get too worked up, Ned. I don't have any proof that the killer _did _take it," Nancy said hurriedly.

"But you have a suspicion that he did," Ned said. "And your suspicions are usually right."

"Why would he want it, Ned?" Nancy asked, even though she knew his best answer would be a guess.

But Ned answered her with a question of his own. "Why would he want to murder innocent people?"

Nancy opened her mouth, but shut it quickly. The truth was, she was wondering the same thing herself.

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"Are you sure you're going to be okay by yourself?" Ned asked Nancy as he walked her to the front door.

"Yes, Ned. I'll double-check all of the doors and windows before I go to bed," Nancy said. "Stop worrying so much."

"I'm sorry, Nancy," Ned said. "But when you tell me that a homicidal maniac has made you the lead character of his twisted version of Ann's book, I tend to get a little worried."

Nancy grabbed Ned's face in her hands and pulled him to her. She kissed him hard on the lips. "You know that's what I love about you, right?"

"I had a suspicion," Ned said, lightly.

Nancy smiled at him. "I'll be fine. And if anything should happen, I'll call you."

"I don't like it, but I guess I don't have any choice," Ned said. "I'm not going back to Chicago, so I'll by at my folks."

"Okay," Nancy said.

"I mean it, Nan–you call me if there are any problems," Ned said in a stern voice.

Nancy saluted him. "Sir, yes, sir," she said, mocking him.

Ned sighed. "This isn't a joke, Nancy."

"I know, Ned. I'm just trying to make a dire situation a little lighter," Nancy said. She looked at him with a sad puppy dog face. "I'm sorry."

"You know I can't stay mad at you," Ned whispered.

Nancy smiled at him and their lips met again in a long, passionate kiss.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning," Nancy said when they finally broke apart.

Ned reluctantly let go of her and watched as she went into her dark home.

Nancy turned on the light to the living room and put down her purse and keys on the small table that sat in front of the door. She heard a car door slam and then take off down the quiet street.

She knew that what she had told him would worry him. But it was better that he had heard it now, especially before it was too late. He had never really liked her being involved in dangerous cases, and now it was really disturbing him since the danger was being targeted _at _her.

But she couldn't really think about how it would bother him. There was a killer on the loose and he needed to be stopped–_fast_.

Nancy spotted the flashing red light of the answering machine, indicating that she had messages. She probably should have checked it, but right now she just didn't care. It was late and anyone that had wanted her to call them back could wait until morning.

Besides, what she really wanted to do was get some sleep. It would help clear her mind of the murders and the missing picture. She went to all of the windows and doors to make sure that they were locked. Nancy was usually never one to let he nerves get to her, but a little fear was gnawing at her. After much debate with herself, she left the lamp that was in the living room on, just so the house wouldn't seem so dark to her. After sending one last look around the room, Nancy slowly made her way upstairs.

Before she was even halfway up the stairs, she heard a thud, as if someone was walking around upstairs. She stopped where she was and listened intently for any more noise. She was about to blame the thud on her mind playing tricks on her, when she heard the faint sound of the floor creaking. It was almost as if the person were trying to mask their presence now.

Not wanting to confront an intruder defenseless, Nancy slowly stepped backwards down the steps. She kept her eyes forward for any signs of the intruder, but did steal a glance behind her to see she had a few more steps to go. If she could just get out of the house and to a neighbor's to use the phone, she would be doing great.

Not wanting to look behind her the whole time, Nancy lost her footing on the steps and fell backwards. Luckily she didn't get knocked out or injured–just dazed. She shook her head to get her bearings and when she looked back up, she saw someone standing at the top of the stairs. From the build of the person, she could tell it was a man. She tried to see his face, but it was covered by a ski mask.

But there was one thing that she could see in the pale moonlight: the blade of a knife glinting menacingly at her. Nancy felt a stab of fear run down her spine. She grabbed onto the banister and pulled herself up off the floor, as the man slowly made his way down the stairs.

"Stay away from me," Nancy said, keeping the fear out of her voice.

The man didn't say anything, but Nancy could swear that he was smiling underneath the mask. She needed a diversion to get away from this guy–the knife in his hand meant business. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a vase full of yellow daisies. Without hesitation, Nancy grabbed the vase and threw it at the guy. She didn't even look to see if it made contact with him; she just took off across the living room towards the front door. She had to get out of the house!

Before Nancy could make it all the way to the door, the man tackled her to the ground. She used her arms and her legs to try to get away from the guy, but he held onto her firmly. He hauled her up from the ground and pushed her against the wall. She started to struggle with him again, but he put the blade of the knife against her throat, causing her to stop.

"Don't worry, Katie," he said. "You're not going to die right now."

Nancy swallowed hard and could feel the tip of the knife digging into her throat. "Why do you keep calling me Katie?"

"All in due time, Katie," he said, barely running the tip of the knife across her throat. "I'll tell you everything soon."

"Tell me now," Nancy said.

The man chuckled, sending shivers down Nancy's spine. "I don't think so. I've been watching you, Katie. Why aren't you scared of me?"

"What makes you think I'm not?" Nancy asked.

"I can see it in your eyes. You're angry with me," he said.

"You're killing innocent people," Nancy said.

"I'm killing them for you, Katie. Everything that I am doing is for _you_," he said. "I thought you would understand that."

_This guy is definitely delusional, _Nancy thought. _I have to get away from him! _

Without even thinking, she raised her leg and kicked him as hard as she could in the shin. He lifted the knife from her throat and grabbed his leg, grunting in pain. Nancy pushed past him, but he grabbed her from behind. She tried to scream, but he put a hand over her mouth.

"Why did you have to do that, Katie?" he asked. "I don't want to have to hurt you, but you're not giving me any choice."

Before Nancy could do anything, she felt a searing pain in her back as he stabbed her with his knife. He pulled the knife from her back and let her fall to the floor. Through a haze of pain, Nancy could see hurt all over his face, as if he realized what he had just done.

He dropped to his knees beside her and caressed her face. What she really wanted to do was pull away from him, but she couldn't get herself to move. Nancy could see tears falling from his eyes. "Katie," he whispered. "I didn't mean to, Katie. I didn't want to hurt you–why did you have to upset me like that? It's not your time yet."

Nancy didn't answer him; she could feel herself growing weaker.

"I have to get you help," he said. He got up from the floor and picked up the phone. Nancy watched as he dialed 911.

"I need an ambulance. 1013 River Drive–a woman has been stabbed." He hung up before the operator could say anything to him. He then looked at Nancy again. "I have to go, Katie. But I'll be back for you."

Nancy put a hand to her wound and brought it around to see the blood. It was getting hard for her to think straight now.

_Ned! _she thought. _I need to call Ned!_

Nancy slowly crawled to the table where she had left her purse. She pulled it down and dug around for her cell phone. When she found it, she hit the speed dial button for Ned's number. It seemed like forever before he groggily answered the phone.

Nancy said one thing before she lost consciousness. "Ned...I need you."

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**Author's Note: Well, as you can see, I survived the hurricane. Sorry it took me so long to get an update, but there's nothing you can do when you don't have a phone for over a month! For those of you who read my profile, you saw the little bit I wrote about the hurricane. It was a very scary experience for me. Next time, I won't be stupid enough to stay at home when another one comes. Luckily, I live far enough from the water and I didn't have to worry about the storm surge. I just had winds and a small tornado near my house.**

**Okay, to comment on the story. A lot of you thought that Ned or someone else would be the next victim. Guess I kind of took you by surprise on this. Like Dom was saying–he wanted Nancy to feel afraid and what better way than go after her directly. This isn't the end, yet. I still have a good bit to go. As always, leave your reviews and let me know what you think!**

**P.S.- I do have this story finished. That was the only good thing to come out of my long absence. I will post updates every two or three days, so tell me what you think so I will know if I need to change anything or not!**


	10. Reluctance Is My Name

When Ned pulled up to Nancy's house, there was a single light on in the living room. When he stepped out of his car, it was eerily quiet. That really bothered him.

He ran up the porch steps and stopped when he came to the door. It stood ajar and this made the hair on his arms stand on end. He pushed the door open carefully, just in case someone was inside waiting for him. The sight he saw made his blood run cold.

Nancy was lying on the floor, unconscious with blood pooling all around her. Ned knelt beside her and felt for a pulse. He found one, but it was very weak.

Ned looked beside Nancy and found her flip phone still open, lying next to her.

_911! I have to call 911!_ Ned thought frantically.

He went across the living room and picked up the cordless. Just as he was about to dial the number, he heard sirens in the distance.

"What the..." Ned put the phone back down and raced outside. He didn't know if the sirens were headed his way, but he knew for sure he was going to make them stop. He walked in the middle of the street and was met by the sight of an ambulance and two police cars. He instantly recognized the husky frame of B.D. Hawkins emerging from one of the police cruisers.

"Ned, what happened?" B.D. asked, hurrying over to him.

"Nancy...she's inside," Ned said, dazed.

"What happened?" B.D. asked, more forcefully.

Ned seemed to snap out of his daze. "She was stabbed."

B.D. didn't say anything, but pushed past him into the house. "Get that ambulance in here now!" he shouted into the darkness.

Ned watched as a pair of paramedics pulled out a stretcher and a bag from the ambulance cab. He followed them as they made their way into the Drew house. He was about to walk in the house when B.D. came out and pushed him back into the cool night.

"What happened here tonight, Ned?" he asked.

Ned shook his head. "I don't know. Nancy and I went to the movies and I drove her home. All of a sudden, she calls me and tells me she needs my help."

"What time was that?" B.D. asked.

Ned looked at his wristwatch. "Maybe fifteen minutes ago."

"You didn't check the house before you left?" B.D. asked.

"I begged her to let me stay with her tonight, especially after the missing picture," Ned said. "She refused and told me she would be fine."

"Whoa–" B.D. held up a hand. "What missing picture?"

"There's a picture of me and Nancy that's missing," Ned said, running a hand through his brown hair. "We thought someone may have moved it, but the more that Nancy thought about it, the more she was convinced that it was taken."

"She didn't tell me about this," B.D. said.

"I found it right before we went out tonight," Ned said. He looked into the house to try to see what was going on with Nancy, but all he could see were the backs of the paramedics.

"Did she tell you about what she had discovered earlier?" B.D. asked.

"About the killer acting out Ann's book?" Ned asked.

B.D. nodded. "And you still let her go in the house alone. You should have known better, Ned."

Ned became furious. "Look–I already blame myself for this! Do you think I haven't been doing that since I saw Nancy lying on the floor with blood all around her? I know I should have been here! I could have stopped that bastard and he would be dead right now! The only thing I care about right now is if she's going to be okay!"

B.D. sighed and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. "I'm sorry, Ned. I shouldn't have said that. This case is just so frustrating and just when I think we have a break, he does something that takes us all by surprise."

Ned shrugged. "Can I just see how she's doing?"

B.D. nodded and just as Ned was almost in the house, he said something else. "Ned, did you call in the 911?"

Ned stopped by the door and turned around. "No...I was about to call when I heard sirens approaching. So, that means..."

"Maybe our killer has a conscience, after all," B.D. said.

Ned and B.D. exchanged uneasy glance. He then went into the house. He stopped by the stretcher where the paramedics had just loaded Nancy.

"Is she going to be okay?" Ned asked, quietly.

"We've got her stable for now, but she's lost a good amount of blood," one of the medics said. "We need to get her to the hospital to be sure."

Ned nodded and leaned down to kiss Nancy on the forehead. "I'm sorry I wasn't here for you, baby."

He stepped back to let the paramedics push the stretcher out of the house. He turned around and saw that B.D. was talking with one of his officers, who was taking photos.

He knew what he needed to do next. He grabbed his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed a number. This was one phone call that he didn't want to make.

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Dom stormed into his tiny apartment and slammed the door.

What had he done? He only wanted to talk to Katie, not hurt her. But she had hurt him, and he had to show that it couldn't be tolerated. He wanted her to bleed, and she did. But why wasn't he happy? Why was he feeling like this?

He didn't turn on any lights. He didn't have much furniture anyway, so it was easy to move around in the apartment. He needed to be in the dark; he needed to collect his thoughts. He needed to think about what he had done. He sat in the corner and just stared up at the ceiling.

It wasn't in the book, and he had been so careful to follow the book precisely. He wasn't supposed to steer from it until the very end. But he had–did that mean that everything was going to fall apart on him?

"No," he whispered.

He had to do something to regain control of his emotions. He couldn't let Katie get to him like this. He couldn't let her affect him in any way. She had seen his face after he had stabbed her. She had seen his moment of weakness. Yes, he had made a mistake; but that could be fixed. He just needed to think things through and then go from there.

But he still had that empty feeling in the pit of his stomach, and it wasn't from hunger. It was a different kind of hunger. He needed to kill again; he needed to feel like he was in control again.

Dom stood up and felt a new energy go through him. He had messed up–he realized that. But he was going to fix that. Sure, it was risky to kill again especially after he attacked Katie, but he would have to be careful. It was a risk he was willing to take.

_Yes, it was time to find another._

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When Nancy woke up, she didn't recognize the room she was in. It was white and sterile and she was wondering what she was doing there. But then it came flooding back to her.

She had been stabbed in her own home.

Nancy turned her head to see that Ned was sleeping in a chair next to her. She lifted up her hand and softly touched his arm. He jerked awake and smiled when he saw her.

"Hey," he said, softly.

"Hey," Nancy said weakly, grinning at him.

"How do you feel?" Ned asked.

"I feel okay," Nancy answered. "How long have I been out?"

Ned looked at his watch. "For about ten hours now."

Nancy groaned. "It doesn't feel like it's been that long."

"It's been long enough to scare me," Ned said, quietly. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.

"What did the doctor say?" she asked.

"Luckily, whoever stabbed you didn't hit any organs or major arteries," Ned explained. "You lost a good deal of blood, though."

"I feel like crap," Nancy said.

"You're going to feel that way for a while," Ned said, apologetically.

Nancy was about to say something when there was a knock on the door. She looked over and was surprised by who came in.

"Frank! Joe!" Nancy exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"That's something you should ask Ned," Frank answered.

"What?" Nancy asked, confused. She looked over at Ned. "You care to tell me?"

"I called and asked them to come here," Ned said. "I want them to help you."

"I told you I didn't need any help," Nancy protested. She seemed to forget that Frank and Joe were in the room.

"I'm not going to sit around and watch you get hurt again or worse," Ned said. "Besides, I knew you wouldn't let the police help you, so I decided to go to the two people you trust the most."

Nancy looked at Ned, but couldn't say anything else. He was right–she did trust Frank and Joe. But she had wanted to keep them out of it so they wouldn't be used against her. Still, it had been hard for Ned to call on them to help–especially, Frank. They had never gotten along and were always at each other's throats.

"I'm sorry, guys," Nancy said to Frank and Joe. "I don't want you to think that I don't want you here."

"It's okay," Frank said, with a small smile.

Nancy smiled bak at him and then looked at Ned again. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Ned said softly. He sat beside Nancy on the bed as if staking out his claim to Frank. Frank just ignored him and turned his attention to Nancy.

"What happened last night, Nancy?" Frank asked.

There was another knock on the door and B.D. walked in. "I see I'm late for the party," he joked when he saw everyone.

"You might as well come in, B.D.," Nancy said. "I was just about to tell them what happened last night."

"Just what I came by to hear," B.D. said. He found a vacant chair and sat down.

"Last night after Ned brought me home, I double-checked all of the locks on the doors and windows. I left the lamp on in the living room and I started upstairs. Just as I was about halfway up, I heard a noise from above, as if someone was moving around. I didn't want to announce my presence, so I slowly made my way downstairs.

"Just as I was almost down, I tripped and fell. When I looked up, I saw a man standing at the top of the stairs. He had a knife in his hand."

"Did you see what he looks like?" B.D. asked.

Nancy shook her head. "No–he was wearing a ski mask."

"What happened next?" Frank asked, gently.

Nancy sighed. "I got up from the floor as he made his way down. There was a vase on a table and I threw it at him. We fought a little bit and then he stabbed me."

"Why did he stab you?" Joe asked.

Nancy shot Joe an annoyed look. "Because he's a killer."

Joe gave Nancy a look of his own. "I see that the sarcasm hasn't left you."

B.D. spoke up. "Did he say anything to you?"

Nancy sighed. "I tried to get him to talk to me, but he wouldn't say much. He kept calling me Katie, though. When I would ask him about it, he would just shrug me off. He said that I wasn't scared of him and he didn't like that. He wants me to fear him."

"Definitely psychotic," Joe muttered.

"Yeah," Nancy said. "Well, if he wanted me to be scared, he's got another thing coming to him. I'm more determined than ever to catch him."

"You leave that to us, Nancy," B.D. said.

Nancy looked at B.D. "You do realize who you're talking to, don't you?"

"Yes," B.D. answered. "A brick wall."

Nancy gave him a small smile. "You have nothing to worry about, B.D."

"Right," B.D. said. "Says the woman lying in the hospital with a stab wound."

Nancy looked over at Frank and Joe. "Besides, I have reinforcements now."

"Reinforcements she calls us," Joe said to his brother.

Frank shrugged. "I could think of worse things to call us."

Nancy turned her attention to Ned; he seemed to be uncomfortable. "Have you heard anything about Brenda's funeral?"

"It's going to be a private ceremony," Ned said. "Mr. Carlton only wanted close family."

"That's understandable," Nancy said.

A cell phone started to ring and B.D. pulled it out of his pocket. "Lieutenant Hawkins," he barked into the phone.

Everyone watched his facial expressions as the person on the other end talked to him. He grew angrier and angrier as the conversation drew to a close.

"Thanks," he said and hung up the phone.

Nancy was the first to speak. "B.D., what's going on?"

His jaw was clenched in anger. "There was another victim."

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**Author's Note: So, now the Hardy boys are on the scene and were called on by the last person they would expect...Thank you so much for your reviews on the last chapter. I figured I would take you by surprise on that, but I didn't know it would be that good of a surprise! All of the reviews have been wonderful and encouraging and you have all expressed concern for me while I went through Hurricane Katrina–I thank all of you for that!**

**Andy–The first appearance of B.D. Hawkins in the _Nancy Drew Files_ is in #71 _Hot Tracks_. He was a homicide detective in that one, but I have aged him a little and gave him a job promotion in this fic. The book never says what "B.D." stands for, so I guess you could make up your own name. You can also see B.D. Hawkins in _File _# 93, _Hotline to Danger_. **


	11. Them Are Some Fightin' Words

Nancy knew she should be shocked, but nothing the killer did shocked her anymore. The attack on her last night proved that.

"When?" Nancy asked.

"A couple of my officers found her this morning," B.D. said. "Good thing it was an attempt."

Nancy did a double-take. "Did you just say attempt?"

B.D. actually smiled at her. "I sure did. That phone call was telling me which room she was in."

"Did you get a name?" Nancy asked.

"Nikki Masters," B.D. said, glancing at his notepad.

"Nikki?" Nancy asked. "She's my neighbor!"

"Are you telling me this guy got brave enough to attack someone in your neighborhood, not along after he did the same thing to you?" Frank asked.

"Brave?" Nancy asked. "No. Stupid–yes."

"He's getting desperate," Joe said.

"That's what it sounds like to me," B.D. said.

"What happened to her?" Nancy asked.

"She was stabbed and strangled," B.D. answered.

"Just like the third murder," Nancy said. "And she lived?"

"Just barely," B.D. said. "My officers said her father came home and found her. If he hadn't gotten home when he did, she would be dead right now."

"But this killer has been so careful," Nancy said. "Why would he make a mistake now?"

"Maybe he thought she was dead," Frank pointed out. "Maybe he didn't want to risk staying there for that long, especially when everyone was on the lookout for him."

"So, he must think that she's dead," Nancy said. An idea had occurred to her. "B.D., have the news gotten a hold of this yet?"

B.D. shook his head. "Not as far as I know. If they did, they would be all over me by now."

"What are you thinking, Drew?" Frank asked. He had seen that look on her face countless times before.

"I know it's against their ethics," Nancy said. "But do you think we can convince them to fabricate a story?"

"I'm listening," B.D. said.

"As you said, he thinks he killed Nikki. If we can convince him that he really did, we have something against him. Maybe she saw something that can help us catch him," Nancy said, getting excited.

"I like where you're going with this," B.D. said. "I'll put in a call to the station and see if we can get the ball rolling."

"I think this may be the break that we've been looking for," Nancy said. B.D. was almost at the door when another thought hit her. "B.D., was there another note?"

"As a matter of fact there was," B.D. said.

"What did it say?" Nancy asked.

"'Tell me, Katie; Do you feel fear?; If not now, soon enough; The end is near,'" B.D. read from his notepad.

"Well, at least we have a bright side," Nancy said.

"Being what?" B.D. asked, snapping his notepad shut.

"He just said it–the end is near," Nancy said.

"And where did that bright side come in?" B.D. asked.

"We're going to get him, B.D.," Nancy said. "You can be sure of that."

B.D. just looked at her for a long moment and then left the room. He's scared of what's to come, Nancy thought. Maybe if he knew how scared I was, it would make him feel a little better.

Nancy erased the thoughts from her head and then looked at Ned. "So...any idea about when I can get out of here?"

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Ned was fuming by the time he walked out of River Heights General. The doctor still didn't want to release Nancy yet, since she had such a large amount of blood loss. Sure, it had been his idea to ask Frank and Joe Hardy to come to River Heights to help Nancy, but did she have to be so happy to see them? As soon as they walked into her hospital room, it had been battle to get her attention away from them. And yes, these murders were bothering her and he would rather that the Hardys help her than she go after this killer alone.

But still, it bothered him.

He had barely gotten to his car when he heard a voice calling his name.

"Ned! Wait up!"

Ned turned around to see Frank Hardy approaching him. He inwardly sighed and cursed himself again for asking the brothers to come.

"Ned, we need to talk," Frank said, stopping in front of him.

"I really don't have time right now, Frank," Ned said, opening the door to his car. "I have to get back to Chicago."

"So, you're just going to leave Nancy in there alone," Frank said, with a trace of disgust in his voice.

"I don't see what you're complaining about, Hardy," Ned said. "That should make you happy," he said, getting into his car.

Frank held out a hand and grabbed the door before Ned could shut it. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Ned sighed. "I knew this couldn't be easy." He got out of the car and stood to face Frank. "You've been after her since day one."

"I've never been after Nancy," Frank said.

"Really?" Ned asked. "What do call never leaving her side every time you're near her? You're just waiting for the chance to be with her. Tell me, Frank–do you wake up every morning just wishing that she wasn't with me anymore?"

"What if I do?" Frank asked.

Ned shook his head. "Pathetic. You know, I almost pity you."

"I don't need your pity," Frank said. "I just think that she could do better than you."

"And you're better?" Ned asked.

"A far step up from you," Frank said.

"I'll say it again–pathetic," Ned said.

"If you remember correctly, Nickerson, you asked us to come down here," Frank said.

"You're right–I did," Ned said. "But it's something that I will never do again. Call it a temporary memory lapse, if you will."

"Or it's that you finally realize you can't protect her," Frank said. He was getting pretty steamed so he decided to hit him where it would hurt. "Tell me–how did it feel to know you could have prevented what happened to her if you had just stayed with her?"

Ned didn't say anything, but brought his fist back and hit Frank squarely in the jaw. Frank's head went back, but he recovered quickly and landed a punch of his own. Ned fell to the ground, grabbing his jaw. Frank put a hand to his lips to see that he was bleeding.

"You're not worth it, Nickerson," Frank said, looking down at him. He turned around and started to walk away. "I'll be sure to tell Nancy you said bye."

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When Frank walked back in Nancy's hospital room, Nancy and Joe both looked at him with shocked expressions. He figured he should have wiped the blood from his lip, but he secretly wanted Nancy to realize the kind of guy Ned was. At least, the kind of guy Frank thought he was.

"Frank, what happened to you?" Nancy asked. "I thought you were going to get something to drink from the vending machines."

Joe cracked a smile. "Looks like the vending machine won," he joked.

"I went outside and talked to Ned before he left," Frank said. "We had a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding?" Nancy scoffed. "Frank, you're bleeding."

"He is, too," Frank said. He went into the bathroom and grabbed a paper towel. He then sat in a chair and started to wipe at his lip.

"You two were fighting?" Nancy asked, incredulously. "About what?"

"I bet you could guess what it was," Joe said. He sat back in his chair and watched Frank and Nancy with an amused expression on his face.

"Tell me, Frank," Nancy said. "I may have a stab wound, but I'm pretty sure I can get out of this bed and knock you upside the head if I need to."

Frank looked at Nancy and then looked at the paper towel he was holding. "You," he said softly.

"Me?" Nancy asked. She shook her head in wonder. "It's amazing that you two can start a fight in the middle of a murder spree. And especially when I'm in here."

"I couldn't help it, Nan," Frank said.

"Let me guess: your argument's going to be that he started it," Nancy said.

"Ah...a classic," Joe said.

Frank shot his brother an annoyed look, but Joe just shrugged it off.

"Hey, I'm enjoying this," Joe said. "I'm usually the one that's on the chopping block."

"I'm waiting, Frank," Nancy said.

Frank looked up at her to see her arms crossed in front of her chest. He sighed. "I may have said something I shouldn't have."

"What?" Nancy asked.

"Nancy, I really don't want to talk about it," Frank said.

"You should have thought about that before you decided to get into a fight that was about me," Nancy said.

"Look, I feel stupid about it," Frank said. "I'm sorry I even said anything to Ned."

"Did you tell him that?" Nancy asked.

Frank shook his head. "I walked away before I did or said anything else I would regret."

"You owe him an apology, Frank," Nancy said.

"I know I do," Frank said. He looked at his watch. "Joe and I should get going. We still need to get a hotel room."

Nancy shook her head. "Stay at my house. Dad and Hannah both are out of town."

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" Frank asked.

"I honestly don't know," Nancy said. "I guess we'll find out."

Frank and Joe each gave Nancy a hug and left the hospital room. After they had walked a few doors away from Nancy's room, Joe instantly went on the attack.

"What did you fight about?" Joe asked.

"You already know," Frank muttered.

"Did you really start it?" Joe asked.

"Yes, Joe," Frank said with a sigh.

"How?" Joe asked.

"Are you ever going to stop questioning me?" Frank asked.

"I'm sorry, Frank–you're usually the level-headed one," Joe said. "I'm just in awe."

They had walked out to the parking lot and were at their car. Frank unlocked the doors and they got in.

"I hit him with a cheap shot about not being there for Nancy," Frank said. "I knew it would get a rise out of him and it worked. He punched me, I punched him back. I walked away before it got any worse."

Joe looked at his brother and smiled; he was really impressed. "I didn't think you had it in you, brother."

"I didn't either," Frank said, with a small smile. "And you know what? It felt really good."

Joe chuckled at his brother as Frank started the car. "So...was it worth it?"

Frank's smile grew. "It really was."

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The next morning, Frank and joe walked into Nancy's hospital room. She had just gotten dressed and was waiting for them to pick her up. Her doctor had given her a clean bill of health and was allowing her to be discharged.

"I see that you're ready to go," Joe commented.

"I was ready to go when I got here," Nancy said, wryly. "If you remember, I hate hospitals."

"Well, here are your two knights in shining armor ready to take you to your castle," Joe joked.

Nancy smiled at him and then looked at Frank. "Are you not going to talk to me?"

"I was wondering if you were going to talk to me after my little stunt yesterday," Frank said.

"You're male, Frank," Nancy said. "You were thinking with your fists, not your head. And if I can forgive you for something like that, then I would never be able to forgive you for anything. And I know you won't do anything like that, again."

"Unless provoked," Frank said.

Nancy rolled her eyes and smiled at him.

"So, how are you feeling?" Frank asked.

"I feel good," Nancy said.

"Hey, can I see where he stabbed you?" Joe asked. Nancy saw that he had taken hold of her Jello-cup and was halfway through it.

"Are you rally that morbid?" Nancy asked.

"Come on...please," Joe pleaded.

Nancy turned around and barely lifted her shirt to show the two-inch stab wound on the right side of her back. "Satisfied?"

"For the time being," Joe said.

"Ignore him, Nan," Frank said, throwing a pillow at his brother.

"Hey!" Joe protested as it hit him in the face.

"So, what do you have in your hands?" Nancy asked.

Oh...I thought you'd want to see this." Frank handed her the local newspaper.

"'Killer Claims Another Victim'," Nancy read aloud. "Right there...big as day. He got them to do it."

"I also watched all of the news channels and they're saying the same thing," Frank said.

Nancy nodded. "I feel really good about this," she said.

"We're going to get him," Frank said.

"I need to go to the police station," Nancy said.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Frank said. "You need to rest."

"I have been resting, Frank," Nancy said. "What do you call being in the hospital?"

"Recovering from a very serious stab wound," Frank answered.

"You can't keep me from going," Nancy said.

"I can–you wanna see how?" Frank asked, raising an eyebrow.

"But you won't," Nancy said, smiling sweetly at him. "Because you know if you won't take me there, I'll just get there myself. And I know you don't want that."

Nancy gave him a look that dared him to say something else. Frank threw up his hands in surrender. "Fine–you win."

Nancy smiled at him. "I usually do."

Frank shot his brother a look. Joe just shrugged at him. "What?"

"I didn't hear anything from you," Frank said. "Which is pretty odd."

"What can I say?" Joe asked. "I'm just full of surprises this week."

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B.D.'s eyes narrowed when he saw Nancy walking in with the Hardys.

"I thought you were supposed to be at home resting," he said in a stern voice.

"Since when do I listen to anything anyone says to me?" Nancy asked.

"Touche," B.D. said. Then he shot a look at the brothers. "I thought you two were supposed to be watching her."

"Have you ever known anyone to be able to watch her for long?" Frank asked.

B.D. grinned. "I knew there was a reason I liked you, too."

"Hello...I'm still here," Nancy said.

"Yes, you are," B.D. said. "All right, come to my office."

They followed B.D. into his office and he shut the door.

"So, what can I do for you today?" B.D. asked, sitting at his desk.

"I saw the newspaper," Nancy said. "How did you get them to do that?"

"I can be a very convincing person when I need to be," B.D. said. "And it helps that I have a badge."

"See–now I knew that thing came in handy for something," Nancy said. "You know, besides impressing the ladies."

"You are just so funny," B.D. said sarcastically.

"I came here because I thought of something last night," Nancy said. "Something that may be able to help us."

"Enlighten me, please," B.D. said, leaning back in his chair.

"I was thinking about Ann's book signing. If I remember correctly, that bookstore has a security camera," Nancy said. "So, that would mean it would have footage of everyone that came to the book signing."

"You think our killer was at the book signing?" B.D. asked.

"He had to be," Nancy said. "If he is this vested into the book and determined to bring it to life, don't you think he would want to be there when it was released?"

"So, did he just decide that night that he got it that he would start copying it?" Joe asked. "This guy is very methodic and smart from what you've been saying. He would have thought this out."

"There was a lot of publicity about it. And there was a lot of talk about it, and Ann made sure to leak out just enough to get everyone hooked. And she was a local celebrity, after all. So the killer had plenty of time to think about what he was going to do," Nancy explained.

"It makes sense," Frank said.

"Of course it does," Nancy said. "And do you think he would miss the opportunity to meet Ann?"

"We need to get that videotape, then," B.D. said.

"But we don't even know what he looks like," Joe said. "You said he was wearing a mask when he attacked you so how will we identify him?"

"We still have Nikki," Nancy said.

"What if he was wearing a mask when he attacked her?" Frank pointed out.

"We just have to hope that he wasn't," Nancy said. "I don't think he would though. He was planning on killing her, so he wouldn't bother to cover his face. When he went after me, he knew he wasn't going to kill me. He told me that much to my face."

"I'll see if I can get the tape," B.D. said. He looked at Frank and Joe. "You get her home. I'll let you know what I find out."

"But–" Nancy said.

"Don't make me arrest you for interfering with an investigation," B.D. said.

"You wouldn't dare," Nancy said.

"Nancy, you don't know what I wouldn't give to be able to arrest you," B.D. said.

Frank and Joe grabbed her arms and escorted her out of his office. Nancy could hear B.D.'s laughter following them.

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Author's Note: Wow, this was a long chapter! Thought I would leave it on a light note for you...for a change. Well, let me know what you think! Maybe some of you recognize the name of the victim. She is Nikki Masters and she first appeared in the Nancy Drew File–The Suspect Next Door.


	12. Back When I Was Young

Dom put down the newspaper and smiled to himself. Sure, it had been stupid of him to attack twice in the same neighborhood, especially in the course of a couple of hours. But at the time, he wasn't even thinking about that. Or maybe he was and he just didn't care anymore.

He was sure that everyone would say this was careless of him. He knew that any harebrained psychologist would have a field day with him. And maybe that was what was wrong with him, too. Maybe if he had worked out all of his problems while growing up, he wouldn't be doing these terrible things right now.

But he also couldn't deny himself the sense of power that it gave him. He felt in control and he knew his victims knew he was calling the shots. It was almost a placebo for him to know that he held a person's life in his hands. Could be why his mother always told him he should be a doctor–if only his mother were there with him now. Maybe she could have talked him out of the murders...

Or maybe not; after all, she had died years ago. And he never even knew who his father was. For all he knew, he was just an accident. But no one had still been able to prove that it was he who had pushed her down the stairs. Everyone who had investigated it had come to the same conclusion: accidental death.

Perhaps that was what he could blame his present behavior on. None of his relatives had wanted to him in. They had their own families to tend to and he would just be a burden. So. He was put into the system and soon the Wilsons had taken him in. Why the system would let a family like that adopt a child was beyond him.

Day after day, he was abused and neglected. He had to fend for himself against the Wilsons and the bullies at school. He had gotten to know the streets of Philadelphia pretty well. He knew every in and out of the city. The Wilsons had never known he wasn't in the house. Sure, they had put on a show when the case worker had come out to the house, but that was just so they could get money from the government.

So, as soon as he had turned eighteen, he had moved away from Philadelphia and moved to Chicago. And he had to admit, that life had turned out better for him. He had been able to get a job as a freelance photographer and he was able to do what he had wanted. But it was about a year ago, when he felt this new need arise in him. The need to kill.

And what better excuse than Ann Granger's book. Being a photographer for the newspapers, he had heard snippets of the book. As soon as he heard what the book was about, the need hit him full force. It was as if the book had been written, just for him. So, he had quit his job and had settled in River Heights three months ago.

And it had been a big payoff for him. He had went to the book signing and had seen _her. _Right then, he knew what he needed to do.

So, now it was three murders later and he was starting to get tired. That attack on Katie had shown him how much he wanted her–how much he _needed _her.

It was time for the final act...

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There was a knock on Nancy's door at nine o'clock that night. Nancy was just about to answer it when Frank stepped in front of her.

"What are you doing?" Nancy asked.

"I'm answering the door," Frank said.

"Why?" Nancy asked. "This is my house."

"Yes, but you never know who is at the door," Frank answered.

"So, our killer knocks now?" Nancy asked, sarcastically. "Wow, that was really inconsiderate of him not to knock last night before he tried to kill me."

"Ha, ha...real cute," Frank said.

"I've been told that I am," Nancy said. She stepped past Frank as another series of knocks sounded on the door. She opened it up to see B.D. Hawkins standing there, with a tape in his hands.

"About time you answered the door," B.D. grumbled.

"Blame Frank," Nancy said, closing the door behind him. "Apparently it was our killer knocking."

Frank sent Nancy a look, but she just smiled at him. She then led the way into the den where Joe was watching a football game.

"Who's winning?" B.D. asked Joe.

"Patriots," Joe said, turning off the television in frustration.

"So, I see you got the tape," Nancy said.

B.D. nodded. "And just to show you the kind of guy I am, I waited to look at it with you."

"Awww...isn't that sweet?" Nancy said. She grabbed the tape from his and popped it into the VCR. She then grabbed the remote and plopped herself on the couch by Joe. Frank sat on the other side of her and B.D. took a seat in the recliner.

"How do we know who to look for?" Joe asked.

"Look for anyone suspicious," Nancy said. "That's all we can do until Nikki wakes up."

Nancy pushed the "Play" button and soon their attention was focused entirely on the television screen. It went on for about twenty minutes and there were having trouble finding anyone there who seemed out of place.

Nancy sighed. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. We don't have anything."

"Wait a second," Joe said. "Push pause, Nancy."

Nancy did as Joe said, but she looked at him, confused. "Joe, that's just me and Ann talking."

"I know," Joe said. "Look in the background, though."

Everyone looked where Joe was talking about. Behind Nancy and Ann stood a man who seemed very interested in their conversation.

"Who is that?" Frank asked.

Nancy shook her head. "I don't know."

"Whoever he is, he seems very interested in whatever the two of you are talking about," Joe said.

"But he also looks like he's trying hard not to be noticed," Nancy said.

"He's not doing too good of a job," Frank commented.

"Let's see what he does next," B.D. said.

They continued to watch as the man stayed close to Ann and Nancy.

"This was about the time that I left," Nancy said.

"Let's see what he does," B.D. said.

Sure enough, Nancy grabbed her purse and gave Ann a hug. The guy kept his eyes on Nancy as she left the bookstore and went out into the night.

"Is he smiling?" Frank asked.

"I think he is," Joe said. "It looks like the actual book signing is beginning."

They watched as the mystery man walked to the table where Ann was sitting. He gave his book to Ann for her to sign and they exchanged a few words. He then took his book and held it close to his chest, as if it was his lifeline. He then walked out of the bookstore.

"I think it's a great possibility that he could be our man," Joe said.

"Why?" Nancy asked. "Just because he listened in on our conversation and had his book signed by Ann?"

"He's suspicious, Nancy," Frank said. "The most suspicious one that we've come across."

"Well, we can't know anything for sure until Nikki wakes up and tells us something," B.D. said. "In the meantime, I'll bring this tape to the station and see if we can get a picture of this guy from it. We have several good shots of his face, so it shouldn't be too hard."

Nancy stood up and ejected the tape from the VCR. She handed it to B.D. and said, "Just let us know if you find out anything about Nikki."

"I will," B.D. said. "And you be sure to get some rest. You did just get out of a hospital, you know."

"Does everyone have to keep reminding me of that?" Nancy asked.

"I know how hard it is to get through that head of yours sometimes," B.D. said. He gave Nancy a kiss on the forehead. "I really think we're getting closer to him, Nancy."

"I really hope you're right, B.D.," Nancy said.

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**Author's Note: Sorry that this chapter is so short. I thought I would include a little bit of Dom's past in this one so maybe you could get an idea of what it's like to be in his head. He had a very disturbing childhood and I wanted that to show through. Yes, he is a very creepy guy and I want you to feel that. Try to imagine what it's like for me...I'm writing the guy and I usually find him in some of my dreams–yikes!**

**I can tell that you really enjoyed my last chapter especially my little Joe sayings. I thought you could use a little bit of humor since I have been so gloomy! And a lot of you liked the fight that I had with Frank and Ned...Believe me, I enjoyed writing that!**


	13. Trust No One

Ned Nickerson really had a hard time sleeping. He didn't want to leave Nancy, but he also didn't want to lose his job. And it bothered him that Frank Hardy may have actually been right. Why couldn't he have stayed with Nancy and said to hell with everything else? And why wasn't he there for her when she had been stabbed?

And the fight with Frank didn't help things either. Sure it had felt good to finally be able to punch him, but at what cost? He hadn't talked to Nancy since and hadn't returned any of her phone calls. Was he really that much of a coward? Or was it that he realized he could be pushing her away without even knowing he was doing it.

That was the last thing that he wanted to do. She meant everything to him and she was the one true constant in his life. If he ever lost that, he wasn't sure what he would do. They had split once and it nearly killed him. He needed Nancy in his life; he knew that for sure. But if he kept on with these childish games with Frank, he knew he would lose her before he knew what was happening.

But he would deal with that tonight when he got off of work. He would call her and they would talk everything out. She needed to know where he stood with things. He at least owed that to her.

Ned grabbed his briefcase and his keys and was soon out the door. He lived in a modest Chicago apartment complex that was a ten minute drive to the office. He got into his Chevy Impala and was at the office in no time.

When he walked in the doors, he was immediately greeted by the receptionist, Shannon.

"Good morning, Ned," she said with a smile.

Ned smiled back at her. "Morning, Shannon. Any messages?"

Shannon nodded as she handed Ned a few sheets of pink message paper. "A few."

"Thanks," Ned said, taking them from her. He read through them as he walked to his small office. There were a couple from Nancy and a couple from clients of his. He opened the door to his office and was so caught up in the messages that he didn't notice anyone sitting in front of the desk until he sat down.

"Oh!" he said startled. "Can I help you?"

"I'm sorry–I didn't mean to startle you," the man said with an apologetic smile. "Shannon said I could come in and wait for you."

"No, it's okay," Ned said. "She just didn't tell me I had someone waiting in here."

"My name is Dominic Shepard," he said, holding out a hand. "I was interested in getting some property insurance."

"Ned Nickerson," Ned said shaking his hand. "May I ask what made you come to me?"

"You came highly recommended from a friend of mine," Dominic said with a smile. "Is that a problem?"

Ned gave him an apologetic smile of his own. "No–I'm sorry. I just haven't had a good week." He pulled out a tablet from his desk drawer. "So...property insurance?"

"I recently bought an old theatre. I hope to get it up and running one day," Dominic said.

"Well, I'd have to see the property first before we start with any of the paperwork," Ned said.

"No problem," Dominic said. "Would you like to see it now?"

Ned looked at his watch. "Well..."

"It won't take long at all," Dominic said.

Ned sighed. He needed something to take his mind off of everything else for a while. And here was that something practically smacking him in the face.

"Sure," Ned said. "Let's go."

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"I swear, I'm tempted to give you an office of your own," B.D. said when Nancy and the Hardys walked into his office the next morning.

"Hey, I could have followed you here last night," Nancy said. "You're lucky I didn't do that."

"No...I'm _surprised _you didn't do that," B.D. said, smiling at her.

"What can I say, B.D.?" Nancy asked. "I can be full of surprises."

"And that you are, my dear," B.D. said. He pulled a folder off of his desk and handed it to her. "I suppose this is what you came after."

Nancy opened the folder to reveal a picture of a man who appeared to be in his mid-to-late twenties, with dark hair. He was a very handsome man–someone you would pass every day on the street and not even think twice about him being a killer–with a strong build, as if he worked out every day or was just blessed with good genes. She passed the folder to Frank and Joe.

"So, what do you think?" B.D. asked.

Nancy shrugged. "I don't know; he looks normal enough."

"Just because he looks normal doesn't mean he is normal, Nancy," B.D. said.

"And just what is normal?" Nancy asked.

"We could go for hours trying to figure that out," B.D. said. "But don't discredit him just because he looks nice."

"Looks can be deceiving," Frank commented.

Nancy looked over at him and sighed. "I'm not saying this isn't our guy; I never saw his face. We have to wait until Nikki wakes up to be sure."

"Don't look at him as a person, Nan," Joe said., giving the folder back to B.D. "Look at him as a suspect."

"Okay, why are you guys riding me?" Nancy asked.

"We just don't want you to make it personal," Frank said. "It clouds your judgement."

"It is personal," Nancy said. "It was personal the day he killed Ann."

"Like you said–we won't know anything until Nikki wakes up," B.D. said. He opened the folder to let the picture look up at them. "But for right now, consider this to be your killer."

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Dominic pulled the car to a stop in front of the old theatre. "Well, this is it."

Ned looked up at the old building and whistled. "Sure doesn't look like much."

"Not right now," Dominic agreed. "Haven't you ever heard the expression, 'It's what's on the inside that counts'?"

"Many times," Ned said. "Let's go see what's on the inside, then."

He got out of the car and stretched. It had been a forty-five minute drive out of Chicago. In fact, Ned figured they weren't too far away from River Heights. He should have brought his own car; then he could have went to River Heights and talk to Nancy in person after he was finished here.

Dominic locked the doors to his car and led the way to the front doors of the old theatre. He pulled out a set of keys and unlocked the padlock that was holding a set of chains around the metal bars of the doors. He pushed open the doors and Ned was immediately greeted with a musty smell.

"Wow," Ned said, waving a hand in front of his face to fan the smell away.

"The realtor told me it hasn't been used in years," Dominic said with a small smile. "In fact, I think he was laughing to himself as I signed the papers."

"I'm pretty sure we'll be able to insure you," Ned said. "Do you have a flashlight?"

"Don't need one," Dominic said. "I already had the power turned on. I was ready to get started in here."

Ned followed Dominic to the stage area and waited as he turned on the lights. When the bright lights came on, Ned had to blink several times before he was able to see clearly. When he was able to see, he wished that he couldn't.

His mouth dropped in horror when he saw what decorated the stage. There were pictures everywhere of Nancy–in her house, doing errands, at the crime scenes of the murders. And there were pictures of his victims, too.

"What is this?" Ned croaked.

"What does it look like?" Dominic asked. "It's my shrine to Katie."

He said it so chillingly that Ned felt his blood run cold as he tried to say something. He was so completely caught off-guard by everything, he never even knew that Dominic was standing behind him. He finally realized it when felt a burst of electricity go through his body.

_Stun gun! _Ned realized.

"Don't worry," Ned heard Dominic say as he lost consciousness. "Katie will be joining us soon enough."

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**Author's Note: Yes, I know it's another short chapter, but I hope this was suspenseful for you. In case you haven't figured it out, Dom and Dominic are the same. I didn't have many reviews for the last chapter, so I really don't know how everyone felt about it. For those of you who did review, I really appreciate the kind words and encouragement.**

**Let me know what you think!**


	14. Wake Me When It's Over

The phone on B.D.'s desk started to ring. He picked it up before it could ring a second time.

"Hawkins," he said into the phone. He listened intently to what the person was saying on the other end of the phone. He finally hung up the phone a couple of minutes later, smiling.

"What's going on, B.D.?" Nancy asked. "Why are you smiling?"

B.D. held up the picture of their suspect. "You want to know if this is our guy or not? Nikki just woke up."

"What!" Nancy exclaimed. "B.D., that's great!"

"I'm going over there right now," B.D. said, grabbing his blazer off of his chair. "Are you coming?"

"Are you kidding?" Nancy asked. "I wouldn't miss this for anything!"

Instead of taking two cars the three blocks to the hospital, Nancy and the Hardys rode over with B.D. When they walked into the hospital, they immediately went up to the fourth floor to the I.C.U. wing.

"B.D., should we really all go in there?" Nancy asked, stopping by Nikki's door. "What if it excites her too much?"

"You're right," B.D. said. "Maybe I should go in there by myself."

"I think she needs to see a friendly face," Nancy said.

"Are you saying that I don't have a friendly face?" B.D. asked.

"I'm saying, when you're on a case, you usually don't let that friendly face of yours show through," Nancy said. "She knows me, B.D. She may be more willing to open up to me."

B.D. sighed. "I hate it when you're right."

"Then you must really hate me," Nancy said. She grabbed the folder from B.D. and pushed open the door to Nikki's room before he could think of a retort.

Nikki was sitting up, glancing at the television. When she saw Nancy, she gave her a weak smile. "Hey, Nancy."

"Hey, Nikki," Nancy said. She pulled up a seat and sat next to her bed. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm starting to feel better," Nikki said in a raspy voice. She pointed to the television. "According to the news reports, I'm dead."

"Yeah..." Nancy said. "We kind of had to do that. We didn't want the killer to know you survived."

"The doctors say I'm lucky to be alive," Nikki said. A single tear fell down her cheek.

"You really are, Nik–but you're a fighter," Nancy said. "If anyone could survive, I knew it would be you."

"Have you caught him yet?" Nikki asked.

Nancy shook her head. "Not yet–we don't even know what he looks like. He hasn't left any evidence. That's why we need you."

"Why?" Nikki asked.

"Because we're hoping that you saw his face," Nancy answered.

Nikki's face seemed to register panic and fear at the same time. "Nancy, I..."

"You don't have to give us a description or anything, Nikki," Nancy said, quickly. She pulled out the picture they had gotten from the videotape. "I'm just going to show you this picture. All you have to do is tell me if this was your attacker or not."

Nikki had tears in her eyes. "I don't know if I can..."

"Okay...we'll take a break," Nancy said. "I know it hasn't been that long. I understand–I really do."

"I'm sorry," Nikki whispered.

"Don't be sorry, Nikki," Nancy said. "That's the last thing you need to be."

"But I could help you catch him," Nikki said.

"You'll tell me when you're ready." Nancy pointed to the chair that was sitting on the other side of the room. "Do you mind if I sit with you for a while?"

Nikki shook her head. "No–not at all."

Nancy grabbed the chair and sat it next to Nikki's bed. She then sat down in the chair and turned her attention to the television.

"Why do you need to know now?" Nikki asked, breaking the silence.

Nancy looked at Nikki and let out a long breath. "Because he keeps going after the people I care about. You...Ann Granger...even Brenda Carlton, I hate to say."

"He's going after you personally," Nikki said. "Why?"

Nancy shrugged. "I couldn't really tell you. He's acting out Ann's book and he's brought me into his sick, twisted fantasy."

"I'm sorry," Nikki said.

"I'm only sorry that he went after you," Nancy said. "He took us by surprise on that one."

"Why?" Nikki asked.

"Because he had attacked me only a few hours before you," Nancy answered.

"What?" Nikki asked, shocked.

Nancy turned around in her chair and lifted up her shirt. She heard Nikki let out a small gasp when she saw where the killer had stabbed her.

"It's nothing compared to what he did to you," Nancy said.

"But still..." Nikki's voice trailed off. There were a few moments of silence before Nikki spoke again. "Why would a person do this?"

"He's not a person, Nikki," Nancy said softly. "You should only think of him as a monster. I guess that gives us proof that they actually exist. Our parents weren't lying to us when we were kids."

Nikki didn't say anything, but let what Nancy had said to her sink in. Nancy turned her attention back to the television and listened as the meteorologist predicted a thirty percent chance of rain for the day. A knock at the door caused the both of them to jump.

Frank stuck his head in and crooked a finger at Nancy. "Can you come out here for a sec, Nancy?"

"Sure," Nancy said. She squeezed Nikki's hand. "I'll be right back."

Nancy stepped out the door and walked across the hall where Frank was waiting for her.

"Did she tell you anything?" Frank asked.

Nancy shook her head. "It's too much for her right now. I'm giving her time."

"I don't think we have time right now, Nan," Frank said, his voice grim.

Nancy caught the tone of his voice and began to worry. "What's going on, Frank? Was there another victim?"

"It may not be anything, Nancy," Frank said in an almost reassuring voice. "But..."

"But what, Frank?" Nancy asked. "Don't leave me hanging–my arms are getting tired here."

Frank took a deep breath and plunged right in. "Ned's missing."

Nancy felt as if someone punched her in the stomach or maybe she had heard Frank wrong. She turned and headed for the elevators.

"Where are you going?" Frank asked, following her.

"Outside," Nancy said. "I don't want to talk about this in here."

The elevator opened and they stood to the side to let an elderly couple pass. They didn't say anything to each other as they made their way to the ground level. As soon as they were outside, Nancy whirled on him.

"What did you say?" she asked.

"Ned's job just called your cell phone, looking for him," Frank said. "We answered it in case it may have been something important."

"This can't be right, Frank," Nancy protested. "Maybe he just decided to blow the rest of the day off."

"Does that sound like something he would do?" Frank asked.

"No," Nancy answered dully. _Not responsible Ned, _she added to herself.

"The receptionist..." Frank fumbled for her name.

"Shannon," Nancy supplied.

"She said that Ned went out with a client to take a look at some property and he hadn't come back yet," Frank explained.

"What time did he leave?" Nancy asked.

"Around nine o'clock this morning," Frank said.

Nancy tried to formulate any reasoning she could for Ned's absence, but she was drawing blanks. He would never stray from his job–he had worked hard to get where he was right now. But there was no reason why he shouldn't have returned to the office by now. She was trying hard not to assume the worst, but it was extremely hard when the killer had gone after people she cared about.

"I have to go," Nancy said.

"What about Nikki?" Frank asked.

"I'm sorry, but I can't deal with that right now," Nancy said. "I have to find Ned."

"But we can't do anything until we know who our killer is," Frank pointed out.

"What good will a face recognition do?" Nancy asked. "We still won't have a name. And we don't have time to show the picture around town, especially if he has Ned."

"Nancy, you have to calm down and think things through," Frank said.

"I'm tired of thinking things through, Frank," Nancy said. "I just want it all to end."

Frank held onto Nancy as she collapsed against him. Everything was falling apart all around her and she felt helpless to it all; she honestly didn't know how much more she could take. She just let Frank hold her and comfort her.

"I can't stay here any longer, Frank," Nancy said, breaking apart from him. "I need to go home. What if the killer tries to contact me?"

"You don't need to go home alone, Nancy," Frank said. "If he sees you alone, it will give him the opportunity to go after you again."

"Someone needs to stay here and talk to Nikki," Nancy said. "We need to get that face recognition from her."

"I thought you said that wouldn't help," Frank said.

"It won't," Nancy said. "But at least we can see _who _we're dealing with."

Just then Joe and B.D. came out. "What's going on?" Joe asked.

"Joe, I need you to go to the house with Nancy," Frank said. "I'm going to stick around and see if we can get anything out of Nikki."

Joe nodded.

"You call me as soon as you find something out from Nikki," Nancy told Frank.

"I will," Frank assured her. He then grabbed Joe by the arm and pulled him aside. "You keep an eye on her, Joe. I don't know how stable she is right now. I think everything's just weighing down on her."

Joe nodded and patted his brother on the arm. "She'll be okay, Frank."

Frank nodded and watched as his brother and Nancy walked away towards the police station to pick up her car.

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Frank watched Joe and Nancy leave with sadness in his heart. He was extremely worried about Nancy and with good reason. Everything was piling up on her and he really was scared about her having a breakdown. It would certainly be understandable; he was surprised it hadn't happened yet.

And he hated to be the one to tell her about Ned, but he thought it best at the time. She would have never forgiven him if he had waited to tell her. And the truth was, he wouldn't have been able to forgive himself either. As much as he disliked Ned, he would never put that in front of helping him, especially if it helped Nancy.

"Where is she going?" B.D. asked.

"Home," Frank answered. "She thinks the killer may try to contact her."

"What if he's already dead?" B.D. asked, quietly.

"I didn't even bring that to her," Frank said. "She has too much to deal with, as it is. Besides, I know a part of her is thinking that already."

"She's going to need all the help she can get," B.D. said.

"And I'll be there when she does," Frank said. He turned around to see B.D. gazing thoughtfully at him.

"What?" Frank asked.

"She's a wonderful woman," B.D. said. "It must be hard to stay quiet on the sidelines when she's with another man."

Frank shook his head. "B.D., I've been on the sidelines for years. I'll stay there for as long as it takes. Like you said, she's a wonderful woman."

"I guess it's one of those crazy things you do for love," B.D. commented.

Frank didn't answer that; he knew what was in his heart. "I'm going back in to see if I can talk to Nikki."

B.D. nodded. "I need to head back over to the police station. Call me if you find out anything."

Frank went back into the hospital and made his way back up to Nikki's room.

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Dom lowered the newspaper that he was using to hide himself and scoffed. He thought he had taken care of the problem with the boyfriend, but here Katie was, hugging another man. He simply could not tolerate that. Didn't Katie know what she was doing to him when he saw her with another man? He would just have to show her.

He was sitting on a bench that was on the front lawn of the hospital. It had been risky for him to be out in broad daylight like this. But he was curious...what was Katie doing at the hospital anyway? As far as he knew, she had no reason to be there, unless the doctor had wanted to check her out after he had stabbed her.

_That had to be the reason, _Dom thought to himself.

He wished he could have touched Katie as she had passed by him a few minutes ago. But that would have ruined everything and he couldn't have anything interfere with his plans. And of course, the cop was following her everywhere. That was also making it hard for him to get close to her–but now she was alone.

Well, almost...But he could easily take care of the blond guy. Dom wasn't too worried about him.

But he had been very disappointed with Ned. He thought he would have put up a fight, at least. But then again, Dom had taken him by complete surprise with all of the photographs. It was the one time that he was glad he had taken photography classes at the junior college in Chicago. It had sure come in handy now.

But what to do about now?

Dom watched as the man who had hugged his Katie, entered the hospital again. Why was he going back in there? Katie had gone the other way with the other guy, so why wasn't he following?

And it was right then that Dom got a wonderful idea. It was as if it had been a blessing from above. It would make everything finally fall into place as it should.

_Now I just wait..._

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**Author's Note: I can tell that you really enjoyed that last chapter. I know that I keep handing you cliffies, but it's what I do best. (Besides, I know that it will make you come back, hungry for more!) I just have a few more chapter after this, so it won't be much longer. Let me know what you think!**

**TesubCalle–I thought you would like the title of my last chapter. I know that I have several X-Files fans who read my fiction, so it's really cool that you knew where I got that title from. And yes, I got to use the Taser! Well, Dom did, anyway. And I have to admit, it was pretty awesome! I highly recommend that you do it in one of your stories. (Whenever we get another one, that is...hint, hint!)**


	15. This Is Not Happening

When Frank walked back into Nikki's room, she was still sitting up against her pillows. He smiled softly at her and sat down in the chair that Nancy had been in.

"Where's Nancy?" she asked.

"She had to go," Frank said.

"Did something happen?" Nikki asked, alarmed.

"You really shouldn't worry yourself with it," Frank said.

"I wish that everyone would quit treating me like I'm fragile," Nikki said with a sigh.

"Well, technically, you kind of are," Frank said.

Nikki sent him an icy look, so Frank thought there was no reason why he shouldn't be honest with her. Maybe it would motivate her to give him what they needed to catch the killer.

"We think the killer may have gotten a hold of Ned," Frank said.

"What?" Nikki asked, shocked.

"Nancy went back to her house to see if the killer would contact her," Frank went on.

"Oh, my God," Nikki whispered. "Poor Nancy."

"That's why we need your help, Nikki," Frank said, softly but firmly. "If you can just tell us if the picture that we have matches your attacker, maybe we can find him before he kills again. You don't want him to kill Ned, do you?"

Slowly Nikki shook her head and looked at Frank with teary eyes. "I'll help you," she whispered.

"Thank you, Nikki," Frank said. He opened the folder and pulled out the picture. "Are you ready?"

Nikki nodded.

Frank turned the picture around and held it in front of Nikki. She brought a hand to her mouth and choked back a sob.

"That's him," she whispered. "That's the bastard that attacked me."

Frank hurried and put the picture away. "You did good, Nikki," he said. "You did really good."

He gave Nikki's hand a reassuring squeeze and smiled at her.

"You catch him, Frank," Nikki said. "Don't let him get away."

Frank nodded. "We're going to get him. I promise you that."

He stood up as a doctor came into the room. He had a couple of calls he had to make.

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Nancy unlocked the door to her house and let out a weary sigh. Joe watched her walk in and felt bad for her. Maybe Frank was right–maybe she wouldn't be able to take it anymore. And that really hurt him because Nancy was the strongest woman he knew, besides his mother and Aunt Gertrude.

He walked in behind Nancy and shut the door. She threw her purse down and collapsed into a chair.

"Are you okay?" Joe asked, sitting on the couch across from her.

Nancy gave him a half shrug. "I guess," she said.

"We'll find him, Nan," Joe said.

She gave him a small smile. "I know we will, Joe. I think I'm just tired of it all. I just want it to finally be over."

"You've had a lot to deal with," Joe said. "I mean, not everyone gets to go head-to-head with a killer."

"You always have to try to find some humor in everything, don't you?" Nancy asked.

"I've always thought every day was better if you had something to laugh about," Joe said. "You need something to smile about, Nan."

"I'll smile whenever we catch the killer," Nancy said. "Believe me, you'll be begging me to stop smiling."

"I know one person for sure who would love to see you smile," Joe said.

Nancy looked at Joe thoughtfully and he returned her gaze. She knew who he was talking about: _Frank_. But she didn't voice it; she had other things to deal with right now.

"You can't just sit here and wait all day, Nancy," Joe said, changing the subject. "Why don't you go up and take a hot shower. You need to relax for a while."

"I really wish people would quit telling me that I need to relax," Nancy said.

"Well, if everyone's telling you that, then maybe it's good advice," Joe commented.

"All right, I'll go," Nancy said, standing up. "But not because you told me to."

"Whatever you say," Joe said. He grabbed the remote and turned on the television just as the telephone rang.

"Got it," Nancy said, rushing down the stairs.

Joe rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the television.

"Hello?" Nancy said into the phone.

"Hey, Nan–it's me," Frank said on the other end.

"Please tell me you have something for me," Nancy said, almost pleading.

"It's him, Nan," Frank said. "Nikki just ID'd him for us."

Nancy felt like she was going to collapse. "Thank God," she said. She saw Joe looking at her expectantly and she nodded at him.

"Where are you going now?" she asked.

"I'm going over to the police station and see if we can get this photo in the database," Frank explained. "Maybe we'll get a match and a name."

"We're heading over there soon," Nancy said.

"I thought you wanted to stay at the house in case the killer called," Frank said.

"I want to be there when we get a name," Nancy said.

"All right," Frank sighed. "Just be careful."

Nancy hung up the phone and actually smiled at Joe. He didn't say anything but smiled at her as she went up the stairs to take a shower.

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When Frank hung up the phone with Nancy, we had to admit he was feeling better. She really seemed happy and relieved that they had a face to work with now. Maybe he was getting too worried about her. But he couldn't help it; he always felt this connection with her and this unbelievable desire to protect her.

He dialed B.D.'s cell number and it was answered on the first ring. "It's Frank Hardy. Run the picture through the database. Nikki just gave us a positive ID."

"I'll get right on it," B.D. said. "Are you headed this way?"

"Yeah–I should be there in five minutes," Frank answered.

"Did you tell Nancy?" B.D. asked.

"She already knows," Frank said. "She's coming back to the station."

Frank hung up the phone and slipped it into his pocket. He stepped onto the elevator and pushed the "Down" button. Just as the doors were about to close, a man with a ball cap pulled over his eyes put hand out, making the doors open again. Frank stepped to the side and let him in. The man didn't say anything, but pushed the button for the parking garage.

The ride down was in silence, but Frank still couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that came over him. It was the feeling that made the hair on his arms stand on end. Then thing was, he couldn't figure out why he was feeling like this.

The doors finally opened at the lobby and just as Frank was about to step out, the man pushed the button, making the doors close again.

"Why did you do that?" Frank asked. "That was my stop."

The man didn't say anything, but pulled an object out of his pocket. Frank's eyes widened when he saw that it was a stun gun. He pushed the man against the side of the elevator, but it barely fazed him. Frank realized what a tight spot he was in, being trapped in the elevator.

But before he could do or think of anything to get him out of his predicament, the man pressed the stun gun into his side and Frank felt volts of electricity jolting through his body. The doors of the elevator opened at the parking garage when Frank fell to the ground, unconscious.

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When Nancy got out of the shower, she grudgingly had to admit that Joe was right. A hot shower did feel good and it seemed to relax her a good bit. She quickly got dressed and ran a brush through her hair.

As she was walking down the stairs, she could hear the television blaring. She rolled her eyes and shook her head in wonder.

"Geez, Joe–are you really that hard of hearing?" Nancy commented, sarcastically.

Joe didn't answer her and the volume didn't go down either.

"I'll take that as a yes," Nancy said dryly.

She walked into the living room and didn't see Joe in there. "Hey–are you in the kitchen?" Nancy asked as she grabbed the remote and turned the volume down.

She sighed when Joe still didn't answer her.

"Are you trying to be cute?" she muttered.

She walked into the kitchen and froze when she saw Joe lying face-down on the floor.

"Joe!" she exclaimed. She rushed over to him and knelt down, feeling for pulse. She found a faint one and let out a huge sigh of relief.

She lightly tapped his face and continued to call his name. "Joe...Joe, wake up! It's Nancy!"

He still didn't stir.

Nancy continued to try to stir him when she saw a shadow fall across the both of them. Before she could turn around and see what was behind her, she was grabbed from behind and a sweet smelling cloth was put over her mouth and nose.

She struggled and managed to pull the hand away from her face long enough to let out an ear-piercing scream. But the rag was quickly put back over her face.

"Quit fighting me, Katie," the voice said.

Nancy soon realized that she was losing the fight. Her world was getting fuzzy and it was hard to keep her eyes open. A few seconds later and her world was complete darkness.

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**Author's Note: Yes, another cliffhanger...probably the worst one yet. But as I said before, I'm good at them. In fact, I think I can hear your screams of frustration right now. Well, you'll have to wait a couple of days before you get to find out what happens.**

**Katie I can really tell that you love Dom and I think that's great! If you are totally loving the villian of this story, then I know I am doing something right with my story.**

**TesubCalle I'm not so sure if they have TVs in the ICU or not. But I guess in my weird world they do. Maybe if they did, a lot more people would recover faster! LOL!**


	16. Decisions, Decisions

When Joe came to, it took a few moments for him to register where he was. He had a sharp throbbing pain in his head and he couldn't seem to remember what had happened to him. He slowly looked around and realized that he was lying on the floor of Nancy's kitchen.

_How did I get here? _he wondered.

And then it came to him–he had been getting something to drink when he was hit from behind. He touched the back of his head and felt a golf ball sized lump.

A stab of terror went through Joe's body as he had a sudden thought: _Nancy!_

Joe got up from the floor quickly, ignoring the pain in his head. He then hurried into the living room, searching for Nancy.

"Nancy!" he called. He kept calling her name and searching every room in the house but could find no sign of her.

_Don't panic_, he kept telling himself–which was easier said than done. Frank would kill him if he knew he had let something happen to Nancy. Joe's worries were interrupted by a pounding on the door, which caused his head to throb even more.

Joe walked to the door and opened it to find B.D. with a worried look on his face.

"What happened?" they both asked at the same time.

"You first," Joe said, letting him in the house.

"Is Frank here?" B.D. asked.

"No, why?" Joe asked.

"He never showed up at the station. I've been calling his phone but there's been no answer," B.D. explained.

Joe felt the blood drain from his face.

"How long ago was he supposed to be there?" Joe asked.

"Thirty minutes ago," B.D. answered. He looked behind Joe. "Where's Nancy?"

"She's not here," Joe answered timidly.

"What do you mean?" B.D. asked. "Where is she?"

Joe shrugged. "I don't know," he answered. "I think she may have been taken."

"What?" B.D. exploded. "You were supposed to be looking after her!"

"I was!" Joe shouted. "And what about you? Someone should have been watching after my brother!"

"Your brother knew the risks!" B.D. said. "He never asked for any help!"

Joe was about to say something else, but couldn't. They wouldn't get anywhere if they stood here all day accusing each other.

B.D. pulled out his cell phone and dialed. "I need a unit at 1013 River Drive–pronto." He hung up the phone and turned to Joe. "Tell me what happened."

"Let me sit down," Joe said. "My head is killing me."

They both sat down in the living room and B.D. listened intently as Joe told him what had happened.

"It was right after Frank called us. Nancy got off the phone with him and went upstairs to take a shower. I was down here watching TV and I went into the kitchen to get a drink. Before I knew it, I heard a noise behind me and someone hit me from behind. I never even had time to shout out to Nancy,"Joe explained.

B.D. shook his head sadly. "Frank called me and told me to run the picture through the database. As soon as he got off the phone the killer must have snatched him. That means he has the both of them now."

"Actually he has three of them," Joe corrected. "He has Ned, too."

"Unless he's already killed Ned," B.D. said almost to himself.

"Do you really think that?" Joe asked.

"I don't know," B.D. answered. "But why would he keep Ned around?"

Joe and B.D. looked at each other, neither wanting to fathom the answer.

"Did you get anything out of the database?" Joe asked.

"We got a hit," B.D. said, pulling out a sheet of paper from his pocket. "Arrested a couple of years ago for DUI."

Joe took the paper from B.D. and unfolded it. "Dominic Shepard," Joe said. "Does he live in River Heights?"

"If he does, we haven't been able to find it yet," B.D. said. "Did he say anything to you before he attacked you? Something that may help us find the others?"

Joe thought and was about to shake his head when he thought of something. "He said it was time for the final act," Joe said. "But it could have just been mutterings of a madman."

"But it may also be something," B.D. said. "You ought to know that oftentimes killers slip up and let out something that may be damaging to them and useful to us."

Joe thought for a second and a thought hit him. He felt stupid for not thinking about it before. "Frank's phone," he said.

B.D. looked at him confused. "What about it?"

"There's a GPS chip in it," Joe said, perking up. "If we find out where the phone is, we find them."

"Why would Frank's phone have a GPS chip in it?" B.D. asked.

"We do some side work for the government sometimes," Joe explained.

"What if the killer got rid of the phone?" B.D. asked.

"That negative thinking will pull you down," Joe said. "Be optimistic."

"It's getting hard to be that right now," B.D. commented as another police unit pulled up.

Joe reached for the portable phone and dialed a number. "I'll call my dad and we'll get the chip activated. With luck, we'll know where they are in no time."

B.D. silently crossed his fingers and walked to the door. "You work on that, but I have another angle I can work on."

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When Nancy woke up, she was sitting up in a chair and it was completely dark. She felt nauseous from the chloroform and she was having a hard time getting her bearings. She tried to move her arms, but found that they were tied tightly behind her.

She tried to remember what had happened and it came to her in an instant: she had found Joe unconscious in the kitchen and then she had been attacked. And she didn't have to guess who had attacked her. _Well, he had told her that he would be back for her._

_Looks like he kept his promise_, she thought ruefully.

Clapping sounded from somewhere in the room and Nancy jerked her head up, not sure where to look. She didn't want to panic, but she had to admit that it was hard when she was in a room that was enveloped in pure darkness. But the darkness quickly went away when a light came on directly above her. She turned her head away and closed her eyes, begging for the darkness to come back.

When she finally became accustomed to sudden brightness, she looked around to see that she was on a stage with her back towards the seats. But another sight took her breath away; everywhere she looked, there were pictures of her and the victims he had gone after.

"What do you think, Katie?" a man's voice asked.

Nancy looked at the left wing and saw a face that she recognized immediately–it was the man from the book signing. And she saw that he was dressed in a tuxedo. She immediately tried to loosen the rope around her hands.

"You won't be able to get out of those ropes. I learned quite a few things about knots in the Boy Scouts. Why aren't you answering me, Katie?" he asked. He waved his arm around, indicating the whole theater. "Don't you like this place?"

Nancy inwardly sighed when she realized that he was right–every time she struggled with the ropes, they seemed to get tighter. And she wasn't sure how she should answer his question. She didn't want to make him angry, but she also didn't want to flatter him. She decided she would go with the simplest answer. "It's nice."

The man smiled at her. "I thought you would like it. That's why I picked it out."

"Will you answer something for me?" Nancy asked.

The man seemed to consider for a moment. "Maybe," he said, finally answering.

_Well, that's better than nothing,_ Nancy thought. "Why do you keep calling me Katie?"

He started to chuckle. "It's your name, silly."

Nancy slowly shook her head. "My name is Nancy."

"That's what _they _call you," he said. He dropped his voice to a stage whisper "But I know your name is Katie."

"Who are _they_?" Nancy asked.

"The detectives and your friends," he answered.

"Are you going to tell me your name?" Nancy asked.

"Dominic," he said softly. "But everyone calls me Dom."

Nancy felt a shiver go through her body. "Why are you in a tuxedo?"

Dom smiled. "You're about to give your final performance. I wanted to look perfect for you and the grand finale."

"How long have you been taking pictures of me?" she asked.

"Just a couple of weeks," Dom answered. "You happen to be very photogenic, Katie."

Nancy ignored that and plunged ahead with questions. He thought she was just going to allow him to kill her, but he had another thing coming. "Why have you been killing innocent people, Dom?"

Dom took a slow step towards her and she forced herself to remain calm. "What makes you think they were innocent?"

"What did they do to deserve to be murdered?" Nancy asked.

"You would probably think it was nothing," Dom said, walking behind her "But they all have their reasons." He leaned down so he could talk softly into her ear. "Just like you have your reasons, Katie."

Nancy swallowed hard and tried not to show any fear.

"I killed Ann just to do it. I mean, after all...she did give me some great material," Dom said standing up straight. "I wanted to see how many people her death would affect and apparently it was a great deal. And there were some things in her book I didn't agree with–mostly the ending."

Nancy knew exactly what he was talking about. He didn't think the heroine should have lived and he was about to fix that.

"Why did you pick me to go after?" Nancy asked.

Dom shrugged. "I saw you at the book signing. Now keep in mind, I've been planning these murders for a long time. When I saw you talking with Ann, everything just seemed to fall into place. It was almost as if you had been there just for me. And on top of that, I realized you had a lot of connections in River Heights. You needed to suffer, Katie."

"What about Brenda?" Nancy asked. "If you had done your homework, you would know we didn't get along very well."

Dom seemed to think about that. "I did it as a favor for you," he said.

"A favor?" Nancy repeated, horrified.

"I could see how upset she always made you," Dom explained. "I didn't like that."

"And that justifies you killing her?" Nancy asked, appalled.

Dom knelt in front of her and grabbed her face to make her look at him. "I did it all for you! Don't you understand, Katie? Everything that I have done has been for you!"

Nancy tried to pull her face away, wanting desperately to get away from him. She could see that she had pushed him too far that time. But he continued to hold onto her.

"Why are you making me angry, Katie?" Dom asked. "You know what happened the last time you upset me."

Nancy decided she would go for it. "Thanks to you, I'll have the scar to remind me."

Dom let go of her and slapped her hard across her face. "Don't worry, Katie. When I'm done with you, the scar will be the last of your worries," he said, menacingly.

Nancy coughed, tasting blood in her mouth. She felt the right side of her face throbbing and her head was starting to pound even more.

But she now had something she could use against him. He didn't seem to like it when she was disgusted with him. Maybe she could push him far enough where he would make a mistake and she could get away.

He pulled something from his pocket and Nancy recognized it immediately. It was the picture of her and Ned that went missing from her house. "You were with me the whole time, Katie. You helped me kill them all."

Nancy felt sick to her stomach. She really was worried with how delusional he was. Well, it was time to drop him down a level. "There's something you should know, Dom."

"What's that?" Dom asked, amused.

"The last girl you went after–she's not dead," Nancy said, watching his reaction.

Dom's eyes widened. "What are you talking about? Of course, she's dead."

"Then how do you explain the fact that she's in the hospital right now, talking to the police?" Nancy asked.

"That's why you were in the hospital," Dom commented, as if he had an epiphany.

"So you were following me," Nancy said.

"I had to know what you were doing," Dom said. Then he shrugged. "I guess I'll have to take care of her when I'm done with you."

"The police will know who you are by then," Nancy said.

"I'm not too worried about them," Dom said. "If they had managed to do their job so far, you wouldn't be here with me right now."

Nancy couldn't think of how to respond to that. He seemed to know he had her at a loss of words.

"I'm surprised you haven't asked about your boyfriends," Dom commented.

"Boyfriends?" Nancy asked. "What are you talking about?"

"That's right," Dom said, smiling. "You think I only have Ned, but I have the other one as well."

Nancy looked at him confused. _What in the world was he talking about?_

Dom walked to the back of the stage and pulled on some rope. The curtains in the back moved back to reveal Ned and Frank both tied to chairs and apparently unconscious. Nancy looked at him with horror all over her face.

"No," she whispered.

Dom gave her a chilling smile. "I thought you would like that."

"What do you want with them?" Nancy yelled. "This is between you and me."

"You're right, it is between the two of us," Dom said. "But I want you to suffer one last time as final blow to you before you die, Katie."

Nancy could feel her heart pounding loudly in her chest. It was bad enough that he wanted to kill her, but he wanted to get rid of Frank and Ned as well. Her eyes flickered over to them as they started to stir in their chairs.

"Oh, good," Dom said, gleefully. "They're starting to wake up."

"Why?" Nancy asked.

Dom smirked at her. "Why not?"

Nancy looked back over at the boys as they seemed to realize where they were. They both looked at Nancy tied up across the stage from them. They immediately started to struggle in their chairs.

"Nancy, what's going on?" Frank asked.

"Are you okay?" Ned asked.

"Her name is Katie!" Dom yelled at them.

Nancy flinched and nodded her head slowly. She looked up as Dom walked towards her.

"You don't even notice the two of them vying for your attention," Dom said, looking at the boys. "It's really sad, Katie. You don't know how many women would love to have even _one _man look at them the way they look at you."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Nancy said. She glanced at Frank to see him barely nodding his head at her. He wiggled his arms around, telling her that he was trying to get free.

"Really?" Dom asked. He turned around to look at Nancy again. "Why don't you ask them?"

"I'm not asking them that," Nancy said.

"Because you know I'm right," Dom said simply. He started to caress her cheek, and Nancy didn't fight him. She needed to try to keep his attention focused on her. "But I don't like that because, sweet Katie, you belong to me."

Nancy glanced at Frank and Ned and they looked at Dom as if he was out of his mind. Dom just smiled at Nancy and said, "I'll make it very simple for you, Katie."

"How's that?" Nancy asked, suddenly worried.

"Well, just to show you that I have a tiny bit of humanity left in me, I'm going to let you make a choice," Dom said.

"I don't see what kind of choice I have if you're going to kill us anyway," Nancy said.

Dom smiled at her coldly and walked behind her. "I'll let you choose who lives and who dies: Ned or Frank."

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**Author's Note: I didn't know how the whole GPS thing worked so I had to guess! Let me know what you think!**


	17. Choices

Joe almost wished he had never called his father. All he had mostly succeeded in doing was getting him anxious and upset, especially when Fenton Hardy found out Frank and Nancy had been taken by a serial killer.

But Joe also couldn't worry about getting his father upset. He had to do everything he could to get his brother and one of his best friends back. It took no time at all for Fenton to call in and have the chip activated. Now Joe was just waiting anxiously by the phone for his father to call back and let him know where Frank was.

B.D. had also been working as hard. He had gotten on the phone with Ned's insurance company that he worked for and was trying to find anyone who maybe knew where Ned was going with the mystery client. They were absolutely positive that Ned's client was the killer they had been searching for. The only problem now was that the only person who knew where Ned was going was out of the office and had conveniently forgotten their cell phone.

"Do you have anything yet?" B.D. asked Joe.

Joe shook his head. "I'm just waiting for my dad to call back with the location."

"And I'm waiting for the receptionist to get back to the office," B.D. said with a sigh.

He sat down on the sofa beside Joe and rubbed his hands over his face. "I'm telling you right now, no one has ever caused me as much stress as Nancy Drew has."

"She's worth it, B.D.," Joe said. "Think about what it would be like without her."

"I don't even want to begin to imagine," B.D. said.

They sat in silence, each occupied by their own thoughts. That was quickly interrupted by the simultaneous ringing of their phones. They both answered and were only on for two minutes before they hung up at the same time.

"Roxie Theater?" B.D. asked, hopeful.

Joe smiled. "The Roxie Theater."

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Nancy looked at both Frank and Ned and then back at Dom. How could he ask her to choose between two people she truly loved and cared about. Was it just to see her crack? Or was it just to see who she would be willing to betray?

"I'm waiting, Katie," Dom said.

Nancy shook her head. "I need to think about it," she said.

"You're asking me to choose who deserves to live more than the other. It's not something I can answer immediately," Nancy said.

"That wasn't one of your choices, Katie," Dom said. He came around to face her. "Either you make a choice or I will."

Nancy closed her eyes and swallowed hard. What could she do? Like he said, he was going to kill them anyway, so why did she have to choose? She glanced at Frank and Ned to see them staring at her intently.

"Leave her alone!" Frank yelled. Nancy cast a quick look at him to see him give her a small wave. His hands were free!

"Well, I guess we see who really steps up to bat for you," Dom said. "And it looks as if you're answer just got easier."

"Please, just let me think" Nancy said.

Dom turned his back to her and sighed. "I guess you've left it up to me," he said.

Nancy watched as he pulled a large hunting knife from his tuxedo jacket and walk towards the boys. She needed to do something to get his attention so Frank could disarm him.

"Dom, wait!" Nancy called.

"I really don't have time for this, Katie," Dom said, stopping to face her.

"I was just thinking," Nancy said. "And I made my decision."

"I'm listening," Dom said, playing with the blade of the knife.

Nancy quickly glanced at Frank to see him winking at her. Nancy gave him a slight nod and looked up at Dom as he approached her.

"So, who will it be, Katie?" Dom asked. "Frank...or Ned?"

"I want..." Nancy took a deep breath. "I want Frank to live."

Dom smiled at her. "I think that's a wonderful idea, Katie. I knew you could choose if you were forced to."

Nancy peeked over at Ned to see him staring at her with his mouth agape. She could see betrayal in his eyes and it made her heart ache. But he had to know it was in order to save his life!

"Any last words for Ned, Katie?" Dom asked as he walked towards Ned.

Nancy swallowed hard. "I'm sorry, Ned," she whispered. "I love you."

Ned didn't say anything back to her. He braced himself as Dom came closer with the knife raised.

"It looks like she made her choice, Ned," Dom said. "I have to say, I was really hoping she would choose you to live. But think of it this way: at least you know how she really feels about Frank now."

Before Dom could plunge the knife into Ned, Frank leapt off his chair and tackled Dom to the ground. Nancy watched as Dom tried to push Frank off of him, but Frank wasn't letting up. He delivered a swift karate chop to his knife hand and Dom dropped the knife, yelling in pain.

Frank pushed the knife across the floor and Dom landed a punch against Frank's jaw. Frank quickly recovered and landed a punch of his own. Dom's head flew back, but the punch didn't knock him out. He pushed Frank away and ran backstage. Frank quickly got up from the stage and ran to the knife. He cut the ropes around Nancy's raw hands and then freed Ned.

"We need to find catch him," Nancy said, looking down at Dom. "I refuse to let him get away after everything that he's done."

"Are you okay?" Ned asked, coldly.

Nancy looked at him in surprise, but nodded and rubbed her wrists.

"You don't look okay," Frank said.

"Nancy, you're bleeding," Ned said, worried.

"It's just where my skin is raw," Nancy said with a wave of her hand. "But we don't have time to worry about that right now."

Frank and Ned wanted to say something else, but Nancy was already taking off for the backstage area. She looked everywhere but couldn't see him.

"He's not back here," Nancy said.

"Did you really expect him to stick around?" Frank asked.

"No, but he's also not one to just let this go," Nancy said. "I think he has something else up his sleeve."

"I'm going to see if there's a way out and call the police," Ned said.

Nancy watched him take off and sighed. Frank saw the look on her face but figured now wasn't the time to talk about what was bothering her.

"We need to keep looking," Nancy said. "Let's split up."

"Do you think that's wise?" Frank asked.

"No, but maybe one of us will get lucky and find him," Nancy said.

Before they could even take two steps, the theater was plunged into total darkness. Nancy gasped when she realized Dom must have been hiding somewhere. She could hear footsteps moving all around and it confused her. She wasn't sure which way she should go, and she realized that she was a sitting duck. If she could make her way to the door, maybe she could get her and Frank out safely.

She put out her hands, feeling in the darkness for anything that may be in her way. But it was hard for her to conceal herself moving around since she wasn't sure of the layout of the room. She thought she could see a dim light coming from a small crack near the floor, so she decided to make her way towards it. She was barely two feet away from the light when a hand clasped over her mouth and she was grabbed from behind. She was about to fight back when she felt the blade of the knife at her throat.

_I am so stupid! Why didn't I take the knife with me? _she thought desperately.

Dom dragged her back up the stage and turned on the lights. He kept his hand firmly over her mouth and Nancy saw Frank at the backstage entrance and Ned in the middle of the theater.

"Stop where you are," Dom said, menacingly. He pressed the knife closer to her throat and Nancy inhaled sharply as it grazed her neck. But she did see that Frank and Ned had stopped moving.

She was so frustrated with herself. _They had been so close!_

"That was a good diversion, but you shouldn't have done that, Katie," Dom said into her ear. "It will only make your death even more painful than what I had in mind."

Nancy couldn't stop the tear that ran down her cheek. She was so stupid to think they could get away from a cold-blooded killer. She knew he wouldn't be stupid enough to make another mistake.

"Let her go, Dom," Frank said. "She hasn't done anything to you."

"She's done everything to me!" Dom yelled. "She's made every single night a living hell for me!"

"You're basing her on a book character–someone who doesn't even exist," Frank said, trying to reason with him.

"Why can't you see that she's Katie?" Dom asked. "She is the exact personification of Katie and I can't let Katie win again."

"Her name is Nancy," Ned said. "Katie isn't real–she's just a character from a book. You've already ruined several lives, but it needs to stop. Don't take her from us."

"I can't listen to this!" Dom screamed. He dug the point of the knife into her throat and Nancy could feel blood drizzling down her neck. "She's made where you're confused!"

He started to move back, dragging her with him. "I can see we'll just have to do this alone. I had wanted an audience, but I can always rework my plans."

Just as Dom was about to be at the door with her, the back door flew open and Nancy saw Joe, B.D., and several police officers rush in with their guns drawn.

"Put the knife down, Dominic!" B.D. demanded, gun drawn.

"It's too late for her," Dom said, still holding the knife at her throat. "Katie can't be saved."

"It's over," B.D. said.

"She has to die!" Dom screamed. "Why can't you understand that?"

Nancy didn't know where she found adrenaline rush that went through her body, but it his her all of a sudden. She stomped down on Dom's foot and he moved the knife from her throat. She elbowed him in the stomach and tore his hand from her mouth. He fell to the ground, clutching his stomach.

"Looks like you won after all, Katie," Dom whispered. B.D. and the rest of the officers surrounded him as Joe pulled Nancy to the side. Frank and Ned ran onto the stage as B.D. handcuffed Dom and read him his rights.

"Are you all right?" B.D. asked Nancy.

"I am now," Nancy said. She watched as one of the officers picked Dom off the ground and started to walk him towards the door.

Dom stopped before he reached the door and turned to give Nancy one last chilling smile. "I hope to do this again, Katie."

"Get him out of here!" B.D. ordered.

Nancy could hear Dom laughing as the officer escorted him out the door.

B.D. shook his head in disgust and turned to them. "Are any of you hurt?"

"I think Nancy is more than us," Frank said.

"I'm fine," Nancy said, finding her voice.

"You should have a paramedic take a look at your neck, Nancy," B.D. said.

Nancy shook her head. "I just want to go home and put all of this behind me."

B.D. nodded and decided not to push her on it. No one said anything as they made their way out of the theater and into the chilly night air.

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**Author's Note: I really want to thank TesubCalle and katiejaneway for their help with this chapter. I was kind of stuck and they offered me some brilliant ideas. I hope that this was a great chapter for everyone and there is still one more chapter to go. (Sad, I know!)**

**I also know that some of you probably aren't happy with this chapter because of Ned, but like I always say: I can't please everyone! I did what I felt was right for the story.**

**Let me know what you think and stay tuned for the last chapter!**


	18. So Much For My Happy Ending

Nancy was glad that she could now put the last week and a half behind her. It was now a couple of days past the theater fiasco and she was at her house with Ned, Frank, Joe, George, Bess, Carson, Hannah, and B.D. Hawkins. As soon as Bess and George had heard that it had finally ended, they were on the first plane back to River Heights and Nancy couldn't be happier to have them here with her.

Dom had already been booked for two counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder, assault, and kidnapping. The police were still trying to get answers out of him, but he was refusing to tell them much of anything and he had even gone as far as refusing to retain a lawyer.

She was exhausted, too, because she, along with Frank and Ned, had spent a lot of time at the police station giving statements and answering a plethora of questions. And not to mention all of the media coverage that had been surrounding this, she was ready to crash into her bed and sleep for days. She still found that everything was weighing down on her emotionally and she still wasn't able to talk about it with her father and her friends.

But she owed this little celebration to her friends and family. They had been concerned about her and this was a chance to show that she was at least, holding up. They were now sitting around the table, eating a five course meal that Hannah had spent all day preparing.

Nancy glanced at Ned and frowned. He had been acting weird ever since the theater and she couldn't figure out why. And it was really starting to bother her because she could sense that he was putting up a front for everyone else.

They continued to eat and enjoy each other's company as the night progressed. Finally, Ned pulled her to the side when everyone moved into the den.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked.

Nancy nodded. "Of course."

She followed him out onto the back deck and he walked to the edge of it. She walked up behind him and put her arms around his waist. "What's going on?"

He gently pulled her arms away and stepped away from her. Nancy looked at him confused, but didn't say anything and waited for him to say something.

"Nancy, I know I left you the other day when you were stabbed, and I'm sorry for that," Ned began.

"Ned, don't worry about it," Nancy said.

"I am because I hate that I let Frank Hardy get to me," Ned said. "I hate that I got into a fight with him in the hospital parking lot because I was stupid enough to care about what he was saying."

"Why are you bringing this up?" Nancy asked.

"Nancy, I need to know where you stand," Ned said.

"Stand where?" Nancy asked. "Ned, I have no idea what you're talking about."

Ned took a deep breath. "Nancy, when we were in the theater with Dom and he told you to choose, why did you choose me?"

"What?" Nancy asked.

"Why couldn't you choose me? Why not Frank?" Ned asked. "You're supposed to love me, so why did you choose for him to live over me?"

"You're serious," Nancy stated.

"You bet I am," Ned said.

"Are you really that insecure that you would want me to actually choose? " Nancy asked. "I chose Frank because he had managed to get free. I knew that he would stop Dom before he even tried anything. Does it make you feel better about yourself? I mean, are you really that shallow?"

"No, I think you're the shallow one," Ned said.

"What?" Nancy asked.

"I think you like it when Frank and I fight over you," Ned said. "I think that may be why you always string us along."

"Ned, I don't understand why you are doing this," Nancy said.

Ned sighed. "I'm tired, Nancy. I'm tired of it all."

"So, what re you saying?" Nancy asked.

"I think maybe we should get away from each other for a while," Ned said, softly.

"We've tried that before," Nancy said.

"Maybe the outcome will be different this time," Ned said.

Nancy slowly sank down on the ground and stared out into the night. _What was going on here? Why did he have to pick this time to do this to her? Was he really right about her?_

"I'm sorry, Nancy," Ned said.

"Just go," Nancy whispered.

Ned walked over to her and gave her a kiss on the top of her forehead and she heard him walk away. She thought after Dom's capture, everything would get better. But she had been wrong; everything seemed to still be crashing down on her.

She didn't want to cry, but she couldn't stop the couple of stray tears that fell down her face. She didn't want to waste them on someone who didn't even want to be around her. She heard the back door open and footsteps come up behind her. She didn't even have to turn around and see who it was.

"Hey," Frank said, softly.

Nancy looked up at him. "Hey."

"You mind if I sit down?" Frank asked.

Nancy shook her head and scooted over. He sat down beside her and looked up at the stars. "Beautiful night," he commented.

"Yeah," Nancy agreed.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying the quiet of the autumn night.

"I didn't come out here for anything, Nancy," Frank said.

"I know," Nancy said; and she really meant it. She was quiet for a few moments and then she spoke again. "He wanted me to choose, Frank."

"I heard him, Nan," Frank said.

Nancy shook her head. "Not Dom–Ned."

"Did he tell you that?" Frank asked.

"He asked me why I chose you over him," Nancy said. "He didn't even consider it being for the best."

Frank sighed. "Don't worry about what he thinks, Nan. You made a choice that saved us all. I've never hidden my dislike for Ned and I'm not about to worry about insulting him. I've been cordial to him for years, but it's only been because I didn't want to hurt you."

Nancy opened her mouth to say something, but Frank interrupted before she could.

"Let me finish," he said, holding up a hand. "He's stupid, Nancy. He is incredibly stupid and foolish if he's willing to let you go because of something so petty. He needs to open his eyes and realize what he has right in front of him."

"Frank, I–" Nancy began.

"I told you I didn't come out here for anything and I mean it," Frank said. "I'm just a friend trying to lend a helping hand to a friend in need."

Frank held out his hand and looked at Nancy. Nancy met his gaze and then looked at his outstretched hand. She then gave him a small smile and put her hand in his.

"Hello, friend," she said, softly.

Frank chuckled and squeezed her hand. Then they stared at the night sky, each lost in their own thoughts.

"So, tell me something," Nancy said.

"Anything," Frank said.

"How did it really feel to hit him?" Nancy asked.

Frank just laughed and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

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**Author's Note: Well, it's the completion of another story. I know you Ned worshippers aren't too happy with this outcome, but I did what I felt was right. And some of you may be scratching your head about the five attempted murder charges so let me clarify for you: he tried to kill Nancy twice, Nikki, Frank, and Ned–so that's where I get my five.**

**I thank everyone who read and reviewed this story. I think this may be my favorite one so far and you have all been very vocal about your love for it. **

**And just so you know, I do have a sequel in the works. It may be a while before I can get to it because it is in the thought stages right now. Once I work out how I want it to proceed I will start posting again.**

**Again, thanks to everyone for their support!**


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